History of Endocrine Surgery Hammersmith London

Endocrine Surgery as we know it today emerged from the Hammersmith and other institutions around the world in the 1970’s

Endocrine surgery, the surgery of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and endocrine pancreas, has been performed for centuries but was only identified as an entity in the 20th Century as surgeons considered the endocrine system in its globality rather than concentrating on separate organs.

Like many surgical specialities it was originally a part of surgery in general but with the emergence of endocrinology as a discipline, surgeons became aware that they were operating on hormone producing glands.

Selwyn Taylor, co-founder of Endocrine Surgery at the Hammersmith and the IAES' first president, meets Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at the Hammersmith Hospital.

During the 20th century there were many surgical pioneers in endocrine surgery that addressed some newly defined diseases and syndromes for the first time.

These included:

  • Parathyroidectomy by Sir John Bland Sutton in London (some time before 1918) and Felix Mandl in Vienna in 1925.
  • Adrenalectomy for phaeochromocytoma by Cesar Roux in Lausanne and Charles Mayo in 1926.
  • Safe thyroid surgery thanks to the work of Theodor Kocher, Thomas Dunhill and George Crile amongst others.

 

The importance of the collaboration with endocrinology to achieve safe endocrine surgery also crystallized during the 20th century. Thyroid surgery for thyrotoxicosis was rendered safe by the use of pre-operative iodine by Plummer and by the effective hormonal replacement with thyroxine. The development and release of cortisone in 1948 made post adrenalectomy management safe.

The sharing of knowledge and experience between surgeons was fundamental to the development of endocrine surgery. The Hammersmith Hospital with its leading department of endocrinology and two surgeons (Richard Welbourn and Selwyn Taylor) focusing heavily and almost exclusively on thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and endocrine pancreatic surgery became a fulcrum for the speciality.

In the early 1970s the world’s first ever course on endocrine surgery was established at the Hammersmith Hospital. This brought together the world’s leaders in the field and established Hammersmith Hospital as a centre of endocrine surgical excellence. Doctors with an interest in endocrine disease came to the Hammersmith Hospital for fellowships including Orlo Clark (endocrine surgical fellow) and John Doppman (endocrine radiology fellow). The specialty required societies so the International Association of Endocrine Surgery was formed and Selwyn Taylor was its first president. The first president of the then British Association of Endocrine Surgeons was Richard Welbourn. The fact that The Hammersmith was home to the first presidents of the UK and international societies underlines the role of Hammersmith Hospital as a flagship service. The tradition of multidisciplinary collaboration, research and teaching continue to be within the current Hammersmith department of Endocrine & Thyroid Surgery.

Professor Orlo Clark, Pioneering Endocrine Surgeon, UCSF, San Francisco, on his time at the Hammersmith Hospital as a fellow.

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Historical Figures in Endocrine Surgery from the Hammersmith

John Lynn
1941-2019

Consultant Endocrine Surgeon 1978-2008

John Lynn qualified from King's College in 1964 and after his basic training which included a year as a physician and surgeon on Ascension Island, he trained as a general and then endocrine surgeon. This included 2 years in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Lynn was appointed to the Hammersmith in 1978 and worked as an Endocrine Surgeon for 40 years. He promoted the specialty clinically and academically. He died in 2019 and is remembered for his singular pursuit of excellence and dominance in the specialty.

Richard Welbourn
1919-2005

Consultant Endocrine Surgeon Chair of Surgery First President of the British Association of Endocrine Surgeons

Richard Welbourn was a pioneer in surgical endocrinology who was on the staff of the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (Hammersmith Hospital) from 1952 where he later became the Chair of Surgery. He was the first president of the British Association of Endocrine Surgeons (now BAETS).
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Selwyn Taylor
1913-2000

Consultant Endocrine Surgeon 1947-1978 Dean of the Medical School 1965-78 Chair of Surgery

Selwyn Taylor was a prolific academic, writing over 300 scientific papers and following posts at the Belgrave and King's College Hospitals, was appointed to the Royal Postgraduate Hospital in 1947 where he focused exclusively on thyroid and parathyroid surgery. He subsequently became the Chair of Surgery.
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