ACTA NEUROCHIRURGICA
Acta Neurochirurgica 40, 1--3 (1978)
© by Springer-Verlag1978
Obituary
Murray Alexander Falconer
Mr. Murray Falconer died on 11 August 1977 at the age of 67, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends all over the world. He was the first Director of the Neurosurgical Unit of Guy's, Maudsley, and King's College Hospitals in London, and he will be particularly remembered for his work on the surgery of temporal lobe epilepsy. He was born in New Zealand, and received his medical education at Otago University, Dunedin, from where he graduated MB in 1934 and MCh in 1938. A year after he graduated he obtained his FRCS, and in 1937 he went to the United States as a Fellow in Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. In the following year he came as a 1 Acta Neurochirurgica, Vol. 40, Fasc, 1--'2
2
P . H . Schurr:
Nuffield Dominions Fellow to Oxford where he trained under Sir Hugh Cairns at the Radcliffe Infirmary. War had broken out, and he continued his training in Oxford in the RAMC at St Hugh's College which had been converted into a military hospital for head injuries. St Hugh's was the training ground of many of our present senior neurologists and neurosurgeons, who all look upon it with remarkable affection as a place where many great neurologists of the day were assembled and which gave a unique opportunity to those who wished to learn, in 1943 Murray Falconer returned to his home town in New Zealand as Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Otago University. There he set up a neurosurgical service for returning pensioners from the Army. He obtained the FRACS in 1944, and was one of the first to advocate surgical treatment of cerebral aneurysms that had caused subarachnoid haemorrhage. He produced a number of papers on a wide variety of subjects during the next few years, and in 1947 he returned to England to give a Hunterian Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons on the subject of lumbar disc protrusion. He renewed his acquaintance with his former teacher, and two years later he was invited to return to London to become Consultant Neurosurgeon to Guy's Hospital and the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals. The Neurosurgical Unit was created from the unused Private Wing of the Maudsley Hospital, and during the period of its conversion a temporary neurosurgical service was established by Murray Falconer at Guy's Hospital in 1950. The Joint Neurosurgical Unit was opened in 1952, and in 1963 it became also the Unit of King's College Hospital. He continued to work there until he retired in May 1975. The location of the Neurosurgical Unit at the Maudsley Hospital in close relation to the Institute of Psychiatry provided a unique Opportunity for Murray Falconer to develop an interest in the surgery of temporal lobe epilepsy in conjunction with colleagues in neuropathology, EEG, and neuroradiology. He gradually built up a research team to evaluate the criteria for surgical treatment, and to assess the results. More than 300 patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy were operated upon by him personaly, and this work is widely known. In conjunction with Professor Alfred Meyer, he developed a technique for the removal of the tip of the temporal lobe together with the uncus and parts of the hippocampus and amygdalum. This enabled a study to be made of the histological appearances of tissues which had previously been destroyed by suction. The result'of these studies was the finding that forms of pathology other t h a n sclerosis of the hippocampus could be respon-
Obituary: Murray Alexander Falconer
3
sible for temporal lobe epilepsy. The sclerosis was found to extend into the amygdalum as well as the hippocampus, and hamartomas, in which there were abnormal blood vessels and glial tissue, were demonstrated in a significant proportion of cases. It became his belief that the good results of surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy were to be found in those cases in which pathological tissue could be demonstrated. His opinions on the management of cases were dogmatic and often controversial, but they were held with the conviction that everything he did was in the best interests of his patients. He travelled widely, and was to be heard talking on the subject of temporal lobe epilepsy and on other topics at meetings all over the world. In addition, he was a frequent visitor to the United States where he held visiting Professorships at various Universities on five occasions. In addition to his work on temporal lobe epilepsy, he collaborated in the Guy's study on the merits of transfrontal hypophysectomy in the treatment of carcinoma of the breast. Papers on a wide variety of subjects were written in collaboration with his registrars, and no fewer than 18 Consultant Neurosurgeons received all or part of their training in the Neurosurgical Unit during his time there. Ten of these were subsequently appointed to Consultant posts in the British Isles. He was honoured by the Presidents of the Lebanon and Gambia, and by Honorary Membership of many foreign Neurosurgical Societies. The drive and determination which enabled Murray Falconer to continue to work despite repeated illnesses over m a n y years were always supported by his gentle and reassuring wife Valda to whom, with his two daughters, we extend our deepest sympathy. He was meticulous in all that he did, and was single-minded in his desire to do the best for his patient-s, for whom he spared no effort. Their gratitude is his memorial. Peter H. Schurr, London
1"
Acta Neurochirurgica 40, 1--3 (1978)
© by Springer-Verlag1978
Obituary
Murray Alexander Falconer
Mr. Murray Falconer died on 11 August 1977 at the age of 67, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends all over the world. He was the first Director of the Neurosurgical Unit of Guy's, Maudsley, and King's College Hospitals in London, and he will be particularly remembered for his work on the surgery of temporal lobe epilepsy. He was born in New Zealand, and received his medical education at Otago University, Dunedin, from where he graduated MB in 1934 and MCh in 1938. A year after he graduated he obtained his FRCS, and in 1937 he went to the United States as a Fellow in Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. In the following year he came as a 1 Acta Neurochirurgica, Vol. 40, Fasc, 1--'2
2
P . H . Schurr:
Nuffield Dominions Fellow to Oxford where he trained under Sir Hugh Cairns at the Radcliffe Infirmary. War had broken out, and he continued his training in Oxford in the RAMC at St Hugh's College which had been converted into a military hospital for head injuries. St Hugh's was the training ground of many of our present senior neurologists and neurosurgeons, who all look upon it with remarkable affection as a place where many great neurologists of the day were assembled and which gave a unique opportunity to those who wished to learn, in 1943 Murray Falconer returned to his home town in New Zealand as Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Otago University. There he set up a neurosurgical service for returning pensioners from the Army. He obtained the FRACS in 1944, and was one of the first to advocate surgical treatment of cerebral aneurysms that had caused subarachnoid haemorrhage. He produced a number of papers on a wide variety of subjects during the next few years, and in 1947 he returned to England to give a Hunterian Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons on the subject of lumbar disc protrusion. He renewed his acquaintance with his former teacher, and two years later he was invited to return to London to become Consultant Neurosurgeon to Guy's Hospital and the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals. The Neurosurgical Unit was created from the unused Private Wing of the Maudsley Hospital, and during the period of its conversion a temporary neurosurgical service was established by Murray Falconer at Guy's Hospital in 1950. The Joint Neurosurgical Unit was opened in 1952, and in 1963 it became also the Unit of King's College Hospital. He continued to work there until he retired in May 1975. The location of the Neurosurgical Unit at the Maudsley Hospital in close relation to the Institute of Psychiatry provided a unique Opportunity for Murray Falconer to develop an interest in the surgery of temporal lobe epilepsy in conjunction with colleagues in neuropathology, EEG, and neuroradiology. He gradually built up a research team to evaluate the criteria for surgical treatment, and to assess the results. More than 300 patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy were operated upon by him personaly, and this work is widely known. In conjunction with Professor Alfred Meyer, he developed a technique for the removal of the tip of the temporal lobe together with the uncus and parts of the hippocampus and amygdalum. This enabled a study to be made of the histological appearances of tissues which had previously been destroyed by suction. The result'of these studies was the finding that forms of pathology other t h a n sclerosis of the hippocampus could be respon-
Obituary: Murray Alexander Falconer
3
sible for temporal lobe epilepsy. The sclerosis was found to extend into the amygdalum as well as the hippocampus, and hamartomas, in which there were abnormal blood vessels and glial tissue, were demonstrated in a significant proportion of cases. It became his belief that the good results of surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy were to be found in those cases in which pathological tissue could be demonstrated. His opinions on the management of cases were dogmatic and often controversial, but they were held with the conviction that everything he did was in the best interests of his patients. He travelled widely, and was to be heard talking on the subject of temporal lobe epilepsy and on other topics at meetings all over the world. In addition, he was a frequent visitor to the United States where he held visiting Professorships at various Universities on five occasions. In addition to his work on temporal lobe epilepsy, he collaborated in the Guy's study on the merits of transfrontal hypophysectomy in the treatment of carcinoma of the breast. Papers on a wide variety of subjects were written in collaboration with his registrars, and no fewer than 18 Consultant Neurosurgeons received all or part of their training in the Neurosurgical Unit during his time there. Ten of these were subsequently appointed to Consultant posts in the British Isles. He was honoured by the Presidents of the Lebanon and Gambia, and by Honorary Membership of many foreign Neurosurgical Societies. The drive and determination which enabled Murray Falconer to continue to work despite repeated illnesses over m a n y years were always supported by his gentle and reassuring wife Valda to whom, with his two daughters, we extend our deepest sympathy. He was meticulous in all that he did, and was single-minded in his desire to do the best for his patient-s, for whom he spared no effort. Their gratitude is his memorial. Peter H. Schurr, London
1"
