Graeme Duthie was an academic colorectal surgeon based in Castle Hill Hospital, Hull. He was born and brought up in Aberdeen, attending both the grammar school and the university in that city. He qualified in medicine in 1983. He gained his FRCS from the Edinburgh College in 1987 and an MD with honours in 1993. Most of his surgical training was based in Edinburgh, where he first gained an interest in coloproctology. n 1994, he was appointed as a consultant surgeon and senior lecturer in the newly-created academic surgical unit at Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, where he worked alongside J R T Monson, the foundation professor in that department, and Peter W R Lee. Graeme was awarded a personal chair by the Postgraduate Medical Institute in Hull in 2005. The academic surgical unit rapidly established itself as one of the foremost colorectal units in England and a tertiary referral centre for complex colorectal conditions. n 1994, he was appointed as a consultant surgeon and senior lecturer in the newly-created academic surgical unit at Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, where he worked alongside J R T Monson, the foundation professor in that department, and Peter W R Lee. Graeme was awarded a personal chair by the Postgraduate Medical Institute in Hull in 2005. The academic surgical unit rapidly established itself as one of the foremost colorectal units in England and a tertiary referral centre for complex colorectal conditions. Graeme had a deserved reputation as an innovator. He was the first to speculate on the possibility that ischaemia played a part in neuropathic incontinence and in anal fissures and, having gained access to Hull’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber, embarked on a series of experiments investigating the role of oxygen therapy. He was also in the forefront of research into the value of neural networks for more accurate determination of prognosis in patients with malignant disease. At the time of his death, he was working on patient information systems in collaboration with nurse counsellors in an attempt to improve the quality of life of patients following cancer surgery. Outside of surgery, Graeme was proud of being a Scotsman, was a keen philatelist and enjoyed various handicrafts, including stained glass making and woodturning. Predeceased by his wife Susan, he died on 30 May 2018 at the age of 58 and leaves three daughters, Catriona, Debbie and Wendy. Cheerful, kind and popular, he will be greatly missed by patients, colleagues and his many friends.