Remembering Professor John Stanley

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Professor John Knowles Stanley.

For many years Professor Stanley travelled to Dundee every year to teach on the MCh (Orth) programme. It was a highlight of the curriculum and students were always full of praise for his teaching sessions.

Professor Stanley was a world authority in the field of hand surgery and pioneered numerous techniques. He was an internationally acclaimed surgeon who set up the Wrightington Upper Limb Unit in 1979. In 1996, the then Dr Stanley was made a professor by the University of Manchester and he was elected a member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2006. He can be credited with developing five surgical procedures and seven joints or devices which are now used as standard in operations around the world. Professor Stanley retired from surgical practice in 2009 but still freely gave his time and expertise to teach around the country.

Mr Arpit Jariwala (UDOTS Director) who worked with Professor Stanley at Wrightington, stated:

“Professor Stanley was a kind, generous man and an extremely gifted surgeon. Everyone who met John and the world of orthopaedics has been touched by his professionalism, humour and kindness. All at UDOTS and the University of Dundee send our heartfelt condolences to his wife and family at this sad time. He will be greatly missed.

On a more personal level, I was fortunate enough to have interacted and learned from him during my fellowship days at Wrightington Hospital. I remember vividly, many afternoons being taught by him on hand conditions and imbibing his simple yet most efficient techniques of managing even the most complex problems. His immense experience was so visible as he would start teaching extempore on any issue/condition we enquired.

His personal tips and tricks on how to start as a year one Consultant were immensely helpful in my first few years of my orthopaedic practice. I was fortunate to have kept in touch with him when he visited Dundee for teaching MCh (Orth) every year without fail with Professor Ian Trail. I met him most recently in October 2019 and rekindled all our good and shared memories from Wrightington.

For myself it has been an immense loss, as it has been for the MCh (Orth) course and the Hand Surgery fraternity as a whole.”

 Left to Right: Professor Ian Trail, Professor John Stanley and Mr Arpit Jariwala.