History of Thoracic Surgery in London
Dr. Archie Grace was the forefather of Thoracic Surgery in London, commencing his practice in 1938. He had trained under Dr. Archibald. Dr. Don Mackenzie, a resident of Dr. Grace, worked with Dr. O.T. Clagett at the Mayo Clinic. He completed his thoracic fellowship there in 1953, and started his London practice the same year.
Dr. John Coles, a Cardiovascular and thoracic Surgeon who trained at the Brompton Hospital under Sir Russel Brock, joined the London faculty in 1955, practicing the full spectrum of CVT surgery. Subsequently, surgeons Drs. Ed Carroll and Neil Mackenzie, whose clinical practices included Thoracic Surgery, were recruited. Dr. Neil Mackenzie performed Canada's first successful heart-lung transplant in 1982.
In 1979, Dr. Richard Finley, a recent graduate of the Toronto Thoracic surgery Training Program, returned to London as the first surgeon with a RCPSC "Specialty Certificate of General Thoracic Surgery". In 1986, Dr. Richard Inculet was recruited, after having completed a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the NIH-NCI, and a Thoracic surgery Residency in Toronto.
Dr. Richard Novick, a CVT surgeon trained at McGill, started his practice in London in 1988, after furthering his training with a Transplant Fellowship in Stanford. Dr. Novick went on to establish a successful Lung Transplant program in London.
A Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Thoracic Surgery Training Program was initiated in London in 1988 with Dr. Inculet serving as first program Director and Dr. Alan Casson its first graduate who was subsequently recruited to London.
Dr. Richard Malthaner joined the faculty in 1994 and the Division of Thoracic Surgery was formally created in the same year. Dr. Eric Frechette joined in 2012. The present Faculty includes Dr. Richard Inculet (1986), Dr. Richard Malthaner (1994), Dr. Dalilah Fortin (2006), Dr. Mehdi Qiabi (2019), and Dr. Rahul Nayak (2020). The Division is sited at Victoria Hospital, London Health, and is designated a Level I Thoracic Surgical Oncology Centre.
Dr. Richard Finley Dr. Richard Inculet
Dr. Alan Casson Dr. Richard Malthaner
Dr. Dalilah Fortin Dr. Éric Fréchette
Dr. Mehdi Qiabi Dr. Rahul Nayak
Victoria Hospital 1930 Victoria Hospital South Street 2003 Victoria Hospital 2024
