Nigel Porter was a much-admired consultant general surgeon with wide surgical interests, working first in London, where he trained, and then in Sussex. He was born on 19 February 1925 in Ross-on-Wye, the son of George Harry Porter and Elma Blackhurst. He attended school in Ross-on-Wye, and then studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital Medical School, qualifying in 1946. From 1948 to 1950 he carried out his National Service as a medical officer with the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade with the rank of major. On his last jump before demobilisation he landed awkwardly, breaking his lower leg. Treatment at that time was early mobilisation: this resulted in poor alignment, with a lifelong problem and eventually an ankle fusion. From 1952, he trained in surgery at Guy’s Hospital and at St Mark’s Hospital, London, and in 1963, he was appointed to his consultant post in Brighton. He was also a visiting fellow in the school of applied sciences at Sussex University from 1970 to 1975. He was well-known for his work at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and at Lewes Victoria Hospital. He retired from hospital work in 1985. In the same year, he was president of the Brighton and Sussex Medico-Chirurgical Society. In his work as a consultant surgeon he was always keeping up with new developments. One example of this was his introduction and early use of staple guns in gut operations and endoscopy. He helped many younger surgeons to progress. He facilitated the appointment of a Macmillan nurse specialist for stoma and breast care. This extra post led to advanced nurse practitioners in breast care who were integral to the development of the breast unit in Brighton. This was one of the first such units in the country and, as he had been such an inspiration to raising the standards of surgery and specialisation in Brighton, it was called the ‘Nigel Porter unit’. As this unit grew, it was the springboard for a much larger and fully integrated department, which needed larger premises, so became the Park Centre for Breast Care. The breast care nurse of the time has said that Nigel was a true gentleman, who was never ruffled. He was good with patients at any level, with particular sensitivity towards women. His breast work included augmentation. Another area with which he was involved at an early stage was sex change surgery. Over many years much of his work was with large bowel surgery. His anal sphincter physiology service was open to any patient who was referred. Retirement from the NHS was a gradual process, initially dropping to three sessions, thus allowing the appointment of a new colleague, and later volunteering to drop out to create another new post. In addition to being committed to his NHS work, he also had private consulting rooms and ran an efficient private hospital, the Avenue Clinic in Hove, which was used by many colleagues. One colleague commented that Nigel was very hard working and was noted for doing very late ward rounds, so he was given the nickname ‘The night Porter’, which he certainly liked. Nigel had a long interest in opera that started when, as a surgeon at Lewes Hospital, he treated members of the Glyndebourne opera company. This kindled a long interest and he was a supporter and regular visitor to the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Sailing was a big part of his life, but mainly after he retired. Once he was unable to manage his 12m yacht, he took up watercolour painting. It came as a great surprise to the family that he had such a talent; his handwriting was (in common with others in the medical profession) awful, but his landscapes of local views in West Sussex were very good and are a treasured reminder of his varied skills. In retirement, he lived on at his farm, Mannings, with his family and enjoyed painting and cooking (another late blossoming talent). He grew vegetables (with varied success – but he did have his own shed). He had an interest in fine wines and kept an excellent cellar. He enjoyed walking, interested in butterflies and locating scenes to paint. He loved his garden at Mannings, where he lived for over 50 years, but rarely had time to enjoy given his significant work ethic. Nigel Porter died on 11 June 2017. He was 92. He was survived by his wife Leone (née Olliff-Lee), their three children – Melanie, Hilary and Guy – and five grandchildren, Polly, Craig, Imogen, Leo and Lucy.