1. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1988) vol. 70
Philip Rowland Allison BSc ChM FRCS 1907-1974
Philip Allison, pioneer of British cardiothoracic surgery
studied medicine at Leeds and joined the honorary staff
of Leeds General Infirmary as assistant general surgeon
in 1936. It was in 1941 that Allison's specialist interest
was recognised as he was appointed Thoracic Surgeon.
During the war he led a mobile surgical team, dealing
mainly with chest injuries. His reputation spread rapidly
throughout the world: he flew to Kenya in response to an
urgent call in 1947, and performed life-saving surgery at
Guy's Hospital, London, and other hospitals throughout
the country, with his colleague Mr C H Wooler. After a
visit by Alfred Blalock in 1947, Allison, assisted by
Wooler, performed the first successful British operation
for cyanotic congenital heart disease, in Leeds in 1948.
The following year Allison was appointed as Surgeon
in Charge of the Thoracic Surgery Department at Leeds
General Infirmary and Thoracic Surgeon to the Leeds
Regional Hospital Board. A new ward was opened for
thoracic surgery patients and an office was built for a
young Keighley artist, Miss Mary Brown, who painted
watercolour pictures of the operations from sketches she
made in the operating theatre. Some of her work was
shown at meetings of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons of
Great Britain and Ireland. During those years he again
travelled widely, performing operations and lecturing in
Correspondence to: Dr J P A Lodge, Department of Surgery, Clinical
Sciences Building, St James's University Hospital, Beckett Street,
Leeds LS9 7TF
many parts of the world. He was made an Honorary
Fellow of the American College ot Surgeons, a member of
the Roman Society of Surgery, an Honorary Fellow of
the Society of Medicine of Pernambuco, and an Honorary Member of the College of Surgeons of Brazil.
In 1954 Allison moved to Oxford as Nuffield Professor
of Surgery. His first task was to build a completely new
department, specially equipped for thoracic surgery.
Financial problems restricted progress and for many
years his laboratory consisted of two caravans parked
outside the hospital canteen, known to staff as 'Allison's
Wonderland'. The end result, however, was a great
success-a model of its kind.
Allison concentrated on cardiac, arterial and thoracic
surgery; but he always kept up his keen interest in
general surgery and was always glad, for example, to
carry out a splenectomy, which, like most thoracic
surgeons, he did through the chest. He was a brilliant
surgeon, infinitely patient, which was particularly evident in his oesophageal surgery. His work on the surgery
of the oesophagus, cardia, hiatus hernia, and pericardium was known worldwide.
Throughout his career Allison wrote many scientific
papers, notably: 'Treatment of malignant obstruction of
the cardia' (1); 'Reflux esophagitis, sliding hiatal hernia
and anatomy of repair' (2); 'Pulmonary embolism' (3).
In his private life he enjoyed shooting, fishing, travel
and the arts. Allison loved the country and above all his
garden-he had a surgeon's love of working with his
hands. At home, with his wife Kathleen and their three
children, he loved to entertain and with the aid of a pole
in his garden he greeted guests from overseas with their
national flag. An excellent cook, he was proud of his
bread, baked to an ancient Irish recipe he would explain
in great detail.
Although Allison always looked fit and strong he had
intermittent illness and underwent much surgery. He
died on 6 March 1974 at the age of 66 (4).
His overriding quality as a surgeon was his care for his
patients. Philip Allison was a pioneer in thoracic surgery.
He began his work at a time when the future of thoracic
surgery was very uncertain, but he had the courage and
determination to develop its techniques, and the vision to
realise its potential.
I thank Mary Brown and Dorothy Bickerdyke for their help
and encouragement, Professor PJ Morris and his staff for their
useful information, and Professor G R Giles for giving me the
opportunity to write this article. The photograph is used with
permission of the Yorkshire Evening Post.
References
I Allison PR, Borrie J. The treatment of malignant obstruction
of the cardia. Br J Surg 1949;37:1-2 1.
2 Allison PR. Reflux esophagitis, sliding hiatal hernia, and the
anatomy of repair. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1951;92:419-31.
3 Allison PR, Dunnill MS, Marshall R. Pulmonary embolism.
Thorax 1960;15:273-83.
4 Obituary. Br Med J 1974;5907:582.
J PETER A LODGE MB ChB
Senior House Officer in Surgery
St James's University Hospital, Leeds