Nationality British Died 1950 Fields Orthopedic surgery | Name Gathorne Girdlestone Residence Oxford, United Kingdom | |
Books The Care and Cure of Cripple Children |
Professor Gathorne Robert Girdlestone (1881–1950), often known as GRG, was a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon, the founder of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and the first Nuffield Professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Oxford.
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Life

Gathorne Robert Girdlestone was born in 1881, the son of Robert Baker Girdlestone, Canon of Christ Church, Oxford and first Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He went to Charterhouse and then to New College, Oxford.
Gathorne Robert Girdlestone died in 1950.
Work

In 1943 Girdlestone described an Orthopedic procedure which is intended to rescue hip joints in humans and more commonly these days, in animals.
The procedure, a Femoral head ostectomy – also known as a Femoral head and neck ostectomy – is a salvage procedure, mostly used in cases of severe damage through Hip dysplasia or Arthritis in which the Head (and, sometimes, the Neck) of the Femur are removed, allowing fibrous tissue to grow in place, creating effectively, a pseudo-joint.
In honor of Professor Girdlestone, this operation is referred to as a Girdlestone procedure.
Recognition
There are 2 roads near the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford names after Gathorne Girdlestone: Gathorne Road and Girdlestone Road. It is difficult to know whether he would have been pleased with this honour, as he had refused to allow the Wingfield Hospital to bear his name.
Publications
The book publications of Gathorne Robert Girdlestone include:
His published articles include: