From WWII to Kingston, Ontario: The History of Queen's University School of Medicine, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Abstract

Objective To describe the origin and development of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Queen's University School of Medicine (Kingston, Ontario). Methods Resarch ethics board approval and privacy agreements from the Kingston General Hospital (KGH, Kingston, Ontario) medical archives were obtained. Primary and secondary data sources were identified. A systematic examination of newspaper archives, research literature, KGH medical advisory committee meeting minutes, and testimonies from Dr Kenneth Wyllie and Dr John Davidson were obtained. Results In 1949, Dr Albert Ross Tilley arrived at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. There, Tilley initiated the Burn Unit at the KGH and began monthly teaching during the academic semester. Ken Wyllie (Meds '55), Lloyd Carlson (Meds '57) and John Emery (Meds '57) were the notable progeny of his early initiatives. In 1963, Kenneth Wyllie founded the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Kingston, Ontario, having completed plastic surgery training in Toronto and Edinburgh with experiences in Stockholm (Sweden), Paris (France) and Baltimore (Maryland, USA). He was shortly joined by Pat Shoemaker (Meds '66). John Davidson (Meds '82) arrived in 1989, bringing an interest in microsurgery and critical inquiry to the division. Five notable surgeons, Cartotto (Meds '88), Watkins, Watters, Meathrel (Meds '03) and McKay, further enhanced the Division's clinical and academic mission. Conclusions The collective activity of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Queen's School of Medicine in its 66-year history has encouraged more than 40 others to pursue distinguished careers in the specialty throughout North America, including three past presidents of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons.