The formation and early history of the Stoke Mandeville Plastic Surgery Unit

Abstract

World War II came in September 1939 and at that time in the United Kingdom there were only four senior plastic surgeons and two junior surgeons. Plastic surgery units were considered a necessity not only to cope with possible casualties requiring repair but also to train more plastic surgeons. Sir Harold Gillies started his unit at Park Prewitt, Guildford. Mr Kilner’s unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton had been established since 1925. Mr McIndoe started a unit at East Grinstead for RAF personnel and Mr Mowlem formed another unit at St Albans for all casualties. Young men interested in this branch of surgery applied for training at one or other of these four units. The Ministry of Pensions felt that the unit at Roehampton was too close to London and more beds were needed. A hutted hospital built on a ploughed field about one mile from Aylesbury was taken by the Ministry of Pensions and was centred, to begin with, around the plastic unit. Thus Stoke Mandeville opened in 1941, was completed in 1942 and quickly expanded into a general hospital coping with all demands from the local population for general medicine and surgery. Casualties when they began to occur were spread to all hospitals around the country and those requiring plastic surgery were transferred gradually-early or late-to the plastic units. Roehampton and Stoke Mandeville worked together under Mr Kilner, and there was an interchange of surgical staff on occasions. Stoke Mandeville is therefore in line of succession to Roehampton and Sidcup, although it is now quite separate from Roehampton. Since Stoke Mandeville was run by the Ministry of Pensions, medical staff were employed by the Ministry and the hospital was administered for Pensions Central Office through a local medical superintendent. Senior nursing staff were Pensions’ Sisters. Consultants from the Middlesex Hospital visited Stoke Mandeville for their normal range of work. Kilner was in charge of the plastic unit at Stoke Mandeville from 1941 to 1957 but in 1941 he needed support. R. V. Battle was released from the army at that time for this purpose and remained there until 1943. R. P. Osborne arrived in 1941 from Whiston Hospital, Liverpool, as the first official trainee, followed in September 1942 by J. P. Reidy from the London Hospital (Fig. 1). Stoke Mandeville Hospital stands on the road to Princes Risborough. It is a hutted hospital serviced by long corridors. A central administrative block lies across the end of a long approach drive. This block with a front and a back corridor along its length houses offices, laboratories, library, outpatients, kitchens, laundry, boiler units, dining rooms, pharmacy, etc. From each end of this central block a long corridor runs towards the entrance gate, parallel to the entrance drive. Each long corridor gives access to 18 hutted wards (9 on each side), a total of 36. The North Corridor (so-called) catered for general medicine, surgery, paediatrics, general theatre. plaster ward, and later a private ward. The South Corridor contained X-ray and dental departments, plastic surgery theatre, 6 plastic surgery wards, plastic surgery offices and residents quarters. In 1944 the spinal injuries unit opened at Stoke Mandeville and took over four wards on the South Corridor.