Boyle delivers Macewen Lecture

At the annual International Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, held in Liverpool, Professor Peter Boyle was honoured to deliver the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Macewen Lecture entitled ‘Guidelines for a Longer and Healthier Life’.

The lecture was established in honour of Sir William Macewen (1848-1924), a pioneering Scottish surgeon greatly influenced by Sir Joseph Lister who revolutionised surgery by developing antisepsis which decreased drastically the mortality of surgical patients due to infections. By following Lister and adopting systematically the use of scrubbing, Macewen became one of the most innovative surgeons of his time and was able to greatly advance modern surgical technique and improve the recovery of patients. In addition, in 1916 he helped to found the Erskine Hospital which was established to treat the thousands of military that lost their limbs in the First World War.