The life and career of a great surgeon: Sir Archibald McIndoe CBE, MD, MSc, FRCS, FRCSI (Hon), FACS (Hon)1900-1960

Abstract

Sir Archibald McIndoe is undoubtedly one of the greatest surgeons of the twentieth century. He is widely regarded as being one of the founding fathers of plastic surgery. Throughout his early career McIndoe had shown signs of his potential by winning numerous prizes and being awarded various scholarships. During the Second World War McIndoe was appointed civilian consultant plastic surgeon to the Royal Air Force, at the East Grinstead hospital. Here he worked with RAF servicemen who had suffered horrific burns. McIndoe not only pioneered new techniques for treating and reconstructing these servicemen’s injuries, he also developed new methods for reducing the risk and preventing them from happening to other servicemen. McIndoe was renowned not only for his technical brilliance and innovations in plastic surgery but also for the huge dedication he made towards his patient’s rehabilitation and return to society. McIndoe was able to inspire the staff at the East Grinstead hospital to help him achieve this goal by emphasising the importance of teamwork and total patient care. For his outstanding work McIndoe received numerous accolades at home and abroad and was knighted in 1947.