21-05-2025
Surgeon a pioneer of treating burns
With VE-Day's 80th anniversary being marked worldwide this month, it is an opportunity to celebrate a locally-born pioneer who helped soldiers rebuild their lives.
Archibald Hector McIndoe was born in Dunedin on May 4, 1900, to artist Mabel McIndoe and printer and bookbinder John McIndoe, of St Clair.
After graduating in medicine from the University of Otago, the 24-year-old won a fellowship to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in the United States.
His innovative surgical work caught the eye of Lord Moynihan, president of the Royal College of Surgeons in England, who urged him to move to London.
In London, Sir Archibald linked up with his cousin, Sir Harold Gillies, another Dunedin native who had pioneered plastic surgery for wounded World War 1 soldiers.
General Medical Council spokesman Paul Reynolds said in 1938, on the eve of war, Sir Archibald was appointed plastic-surgery consultant to the Royal Air Force, a role his cousin had previously held.
When war began in September 1939, Sir Archibald was posted to Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, where he devised new ways to treat wounded airmen.
At a time when there were only four trained plastic surgeons in Britain, Sir Archibald swiftly developed treatments for burns and other severe injuries.
Observing that pilots rescued from the sea healed faster, he introduced saline baths and frequent dressing changes to speed recovery.
He developed techniques for facial reconstruction, including a tube pedicle technique initially performed by his uncle.
The procedure took a skin flap from chest or leg, stitched it into a tube, then gradually moved the living tissue over weeks to the damaged face.
He also refined skin-graft techniques for improved rebuilding of hands and faces.
His vision extended beyond surgery, recognising that recovery had psychological as well as physical dimensions.
At at time when society usually shunned the disfigured, he urged patients to visit shops, go to the cinema and enjoy pubs and restaurants.
In 1941, some of his patients formed the Guinea Pig Club, a nod to Sir Archibald's description of them as guinea pigs for his new techniques.
Membership was limited to air force men "mashed, boiled or fried" in service then treated at Queen Victoria Hospital.
Club members became a familiar sight in East Grinstead, which gained a reputation as the town that did not stare.
Many went on to marry local women and remained in the district for life.
Mr Reynolds said the many patients who led full active lives after the war were a testament to Sir Archibald's work, defying contemporary expectations.
Sir Archibald carried on in plastic surgery and was knighted in 1947.
He remained a staunch supporter of the Guinea Pig Club until his death, aged 59, in 1960, Mr Reynolds said.
