Obituary

BMJ 1998; 316 doi: 10.1136/bmj.316.7127.313 (Published 24 January 1998)
Cite this as: BMJ 1998;316:313

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

George Philip Arden


Embedded Image

Accident and emergency surgeon, Windsor group of hospitals 1947–78 (b London 1913; q UCH 1936; FRCS), d 25 September 1997. After service in the Royal Air Force, when he became an officer in charge of the surgical divisions of several hospitals in the Middle East, George held posts at University College Hospital and the Wingfield-Morris Orthopaedic Hospital before being appointed to Windsor. He made an enormous contribution to orthopaedic surgery in arthritis, being at the beginning of joint replacement in the late 1960s. As long ago as 1978 the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council gave him a grant for computer analysis of total hip and knee replacement. His association with the Canadian Red Cross Hospital at Taplow provided an enormous demand for the surgical relief of patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile chronic arthritis, transforming the lives of these crippled children, and he became internationally known for this work. This resulted in a book published in 1978 and written jointly with Dr Barbara Ansell. It formed the subject of his Hunterian Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1973 and it remains the standard reference on the subject. George was an international figure, with a zest that encompassed golf, sailing, and bridge. He was the last of the Ardens who could claim descent before the Doomsday Book, and the family name now passes to a cousin in Canada. His wife, Kathy, predeceased him by a few days, but he leaves four daughters and 10 grandchildren. [M Swann]

Michael Philip Coplans

Consultant anaesthetist St George's Hospital, London (b 1924; q Guy's 1948; FRCAnaes), died of septicaemia after an injury on 15 August 1997. At medical school he collected several prizes without neglecting his other interests—Chelsea Football Club, dog racing, and the Guy's Poker Club. At an early stage he decided to make anaesthesia …

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment

Subscribe

Article access

Article access for 1 day

Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

* Prices do not include VAT

Rapid responses

THIS WEEK'S POLL

BMJ most popular