The Books of Sir Denis Browne KCVO FRCS FRCAS (Hon)
Sir Denis Browne (鈥淒B鈥�) (1892 – 1967) is widely regarded as the father of paediatric surgery in this country, not least for the simple act of specialising and operating only on children. He was one of the most eminent, influential surgeons of his day, and had a public persona and social life outside of the hospital. 聽His main base of course was the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London and he worked there from the 1920s to the 1950s. It shouldn鈥檛 be forgotten that he had a wide repertoire with interests urological (hypospadias) and orthopaedic (club foot) in areas long since given over to other specialists.
The sa国际传媒 has received a generous gift from his daughter, Contessa Rosemary Lanza, of his medical library that had formerly been kept in what had been his magnificent Georgian end-terrace house in London W1.
So, what was in DB鈥檚 library, and does it give a glimpse into the mind of a great man? All told there were 32 tomes, all hardback of course.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are only a couple of what might be regarded as general texts of the specialty 鈥� an unadorned 1953 edition of the famous American textbook 鈥淭he Surgery of Infancy and Childhood鈥� by Robert Gross and 鈥淭he Essentials of Paediatric Surgery鈥� (1961) by Harold Nixon and Barry O鈥橠onnell inscribed 鈥淔or DB with sincere thanks Nick and Barry鈥�.聽 There are more monographs on areas where he clearly had a major interest, and had contributed a chapter e.g. The Clubfoot (1964) by JH Kite 聽and 鈥淩econstruction of the Male Urethra in Strictures鈥� by Swedish surgeon Bengt Johanson; or written the foreword such as 鈥淭orticollis in Infancy and Childhood鈥� by Peter G Jones, the Australian surgeon. There also a couple of copies of French texts of neonatal surgery, personally signed by the great French surgeon Bernard Duhamel.
The surgical classics from that era are well represented.聽 So, we have Rodney Maingot鈥檚 鈥淭he Management of Abdominal Operations (1957) and a 17th edition of the venerable Pye鈥檚 Surgical Handicraft (1956) edited by Hamilton Bailey, to which he had contributed a chapter.
I think we can also discern an interest in figures from history and where surgery had come from as he had a 1951 translation of 鈥淭he Apologie and Treatise of Ambrose Par茅 鈥� 鈥� the most famous physician of the 16th century; 鈥淭he Reluctant Surgeon 鈥� the Life of John Hunter鈥� (1960) by John Kobler; together with Hamilton Bailey鈥檚 1946 edition 鈥淣otable Names in Medicine and Surgery鈥� and 鈥淭he Surgeons Tale鈥� (1958) written by Robert Richardson, detailing surgical progress from the 19th century to the present.
As far as I know he never wrote his autobiography but he did have clear preference for the lives of others. We have 鈥淩eginald Pound鈥檚 鈥淕illies Surgeon Extraordinary鈥� (1964) describing the life and career of another surgical knight, Sir Harold Gillies, who was the most famous plastic surgeon of his day and someone who put Sidcup on the map! There is even a translation of 鈥淎 Surgeon鈥檚 Life鈥� (1953)聽 by Ferdinand Sauerbruch, who had been with Hitler in the bunker. There is also a more personal volume I think; 聽鈥淎 Surgeon鈥檚 World鈥� by a Chicago surgeon鈥� (1943) by Max Thoreck, 聽flamboyantly inscribed 聽to Denis and Lady Moyra Browne. 聽There is also a posthumous contribution to the collection in the 鈥淗istorical Aspects of Pediatric Surgery鈥� edited by Peter Paul Rickham which actually has two chapters about DB by PPR and J Crooks, one of his Great Ormond Street colleagues.
All in all, this forms a unique collection of one of the founding fathers of our organisation and the sa国际传媒 should be proud to be its guardian for future generations.
Curated by Prof Mark Davenport