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Lewis Spitz FRCS (born 25 August 1939 in Pretoria[1]) is a paediatric surgeon who is internationally recognised as a leader in paediatric surgery and is known for his work on congenital abnormalities of the oesophagus, particularly oesophageal atresia, oesophageal replacement and gastroesophageal reflux especially in neurologically impaired children. He championed the plight of children with cerebral palsy and other congenital disorders; demonstrating that appropriate surgery could improve their quality of life. He is the leading authority in the management of conjoined twins and is recognised as the foremost international expert in this field.[2] Spitz is the Emeritus Nuffield Professor of Paediatric Surgery.[3]

Life

Spitz undertook his early education, at the Christian Brothers' College in Pretoria. Spitz's clinical training took place at Pretoria University, graduating in 1962, which a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.[1] His post clinical training as a house officer was taken at Baragwanath and Johannesburg Academic Hospitals, and other South African teaching hospitals under the direction of D.J. du Plessis.[1]

Career

In 1970, Spitz travelled from South Africa to the United Kingdom for additional training at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, through a Smith & Nephew Foundation grant.[1] After two years, Spitz returned to South Africa and was appointed to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital as a consultant in paediatric surgery.[1] In 1973, Spitz took a position at the Transvaal Memorial Hospital for Children in Johannesburg and was promoted to Senior Specialist,[1]

In 1974, Spitz was appointed consultant paediatric surgeon at The Children's Hospital, Sheffield, becoming Senior Consultant in 1977.

In 1979, Spitz was appointed to a combined position of Consultant in the surgery department and Nuffield Professor of Paediatric Surgery at the Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital.[3] He built up the department to one of the top 5-10 units internationally.

Societies

Awards and honours

In 2002, Spitz was awarded the Clement Price Thomas Award, named after Clement Price Thomas, In recognition of his outstanding contributions to treatment of conjoined twins.[6] In 2002, Spitz was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sheffield.[3] In 2004, Spitz was awarded Denis Browne Gold Medal, named after the surgeon Denis Browne, who was the first president of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons and was notable for being the first paediatric surgeon, within the United Kingdom.[7] In 2004, he was awarded the James Spence Medal.[2] In 2010, Spitz was awarded the Rehbein Medal by the European Paediatric Surgeons' Association for outstanding contributions to the development of paediatric Surgery.[8] In 2012, Spitz was awarded the American Ladd Medal, the highest award of the surgical section of the American Academy of Pediatrics.[3][9]

Spitz was also awarded the Sulamaa Medal from the Finnish Association of Pediatric Surgery,[10] and as an expert visitor, Spitz gave the coveted Sulamaa Lecture.[10]

Bibliography

The following journal articles, written or co-edited by Spitz, have high citation counts, i.e. above one hundred.

The following books were co-authored by Spitz.

  • Pediatric Surgical Oncology., Lewis Spitz; Peter Wurnig; Thomas A Angerpointner. Berlin,Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1989.
  • A colour atlas of surgery for undescended testes., Lewis Spitz. London : Wolfe Medical Books, 1984.
  • Surgery in solitary kidney and corrections of urinary transport disturbances., Lewis Spitz; Peter Wurnig; Thomas Angerpointer. Berlin : Springer Verlag, 1989.
  • Spitz, Lewis; Coran, Arnold G; Teitelbaum, Daniel H; Tan, Hock Lim; Pierro, Agostino, eds. (2003). Operative pediatric surgery (7th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 9781444117158.
  • Strobel, Stephan; Spitz, Lewis; Marks, Stephen D (2016). Great Ormond Street handbook of paediatrics. Pediatric diagnosis and management. (Second ed.). Boca Raton, Hospital for Sick Children (London, England): CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9781482222821. OCLC 1012894018.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Honorary Degree Citations - Emeritus Prof Lewis Spitz - Wits University". University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Wits University. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Emeritus Professor Lewis Spitz". The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2018. The team at Great Ormond Street Hospital managed 40 sets of conjoined twins of which 89% survived elective separation. He was the first paediatric surgeon to a study of the psychological consequences of neonatal surgery and of Hirschsprung's disease and anorectal malformations on subsequent development.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Schwart, Marshall Z. (8 November 2012). "Citation for Prof. Lewis Spitz, MB, BCh, PhD, FRCS, FRCS(Ed)". General News. Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland since 1784". Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives. Txt File: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Changes during a life time in Paediatric Surgery". UCL Home. Professor Lewis Spitz: University College London. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Fellowship Election and Prize Committee" (pdf). Studylib. The Royal College of Surgeons of England. 3 July 2017. Section 11. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Denis Browne Gold Medal". British Association of Paediatric Surgeons. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  8. ^ "EUPSA Honoured Persons 2005-2016". 18th Congress of the European Paediatric Surgeons' Association Limassol, Cyprus, 17th-20th May 2017 (pdf). European Paediatric Surgeons’ Association. p. 8. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via Doc Player.
  9. ^ "Honorary FAAP Winners". 2012 AAP Award Winners. American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP News and Journals Gateway. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  10. ^ a b Robert Carachi (2009). A History of Surgical Paediatrics. World Scientific. p. 157. ISBN 978-981-277-228-2. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Spitz