Sir William Arbuthnot Lane and His Contributions to Plastic Surgery

Surgical subspecialties were just emerging at the turn of the 20th Century, before this time, general surgeons had to adjust their operative skills to address disorders throughout the body. Sir William Arbuthnot Lane was a British surgeon, whose restless mind led him to wander throughout the field of general surgery and beyond. Although controversial, he advanced in the repair of cleft lip and palate, introduced the "no touch" operative technique, internal fixation of fractures, and is credited as the first surgeon to perform open massage of the heart. During The Great War, he established the British Plastic Surgery unit at Sidcup and delegated the care of facial and jaw injuries to young Major Harold Gillies. Lane later founded The New Health Society, an organization that stimulated the natural food movement. Sadly, in his latter years Lane's thinking drifted further away from with the times and his professional credibility waned. Nevertheless, Lane's variegated life is of sufficient interest to deserve reassessment.