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Sean Hughes (surgeon)

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Professor
Sean Hughes
FRCSE FRCS FRCSI
Hughes in 2018
Born
Sean Patrick Francis Hughes

(1941-12-02)2 December 1941
Farnham, England
Died4 May 2025(2025-05-04) (aged 83)
Education
Known for
Medical career
ProfessionOrthopedic Surgery
Institutions
Research
AwardsArris and Gale Lecture

Sean Patrick Francis Hughes (2 December 1941 – 4 May 2025) was British emeritus professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London where he was previously professor of orthopaedic surgery and head of the department of surgery, anaesthetics and intensive care. Earlier in his career he had been professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Edinburgh.[1]

His clinical research topics included fracture healing, musculoskeletal infection and the surgery of degenerate  lumbar and cervical discs. His basic science research publications included studies of the microcirculation of bone, bone infection and the role of nitric oxide in bone and joint disease.[2] He served as vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh,[3] and chairman of DISCS, the charity funding research into spinal conditions.

His interests in the history of medicine were focused on the history of orthopaedic surgery, and the doctor and poet John Keats.[4][5]

Early life and training

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Sean Hughes was born in Farnham, Surrey, England on 2 December 1941, the son of Patrick J. and Kathleen E. Hughes.[6] He completed his early education at Downside School. He studied medicine at the University of London, qualifying MB BS in 1966.[7] His surgical training in orthopaedics took place in London and he became a senior registrar in orthopaedic and trauma surgery at the Middlesex Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He attained his FRCSEd in 1971 and FRCSEng and FRCSI the following year. Subsequently, he was awarded the degree of MS from University of London with a thesis on bone blood flow, completed while he was research fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, US.[8]

Surgical career

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In 1979, Hughes was appointed Senior Lecturer and honorary consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London. Later that year he was appointed to the Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. In 1984/85, he held an academic mentorship for Rüdiger Döhler.[citation needed] The International Skeletal Society's 25th anniversary book lists him as a member.[9]

In 1991, Hughes became professor of orthopaedic surgery, Imperial College London and honorary consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust (1991–2006). At the same time he took on the role of Chief of Service Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, a post which he held until 1997, when he became the Trust's Clinical Director for Surgery and Anaesthetics.[10] He was Non-Executive Director of the West Middlesex University Hospital (2001–2005) and was Medical Director of Ravenscourt Park Hospital from 2002–2004. Hughes was Clinical Director of the Hillingdon Primary Care Trust from 2008–10.[citation needed]

In addition to his clinical and academic responsibilities, Hughes was Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (1994–97) and President of the British Orthopaedic Research Society (1995–97). He served as chairman of the charity Action Research, now called Action Medical Research (1998–1991).[11]

Hughes was on the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Orthopaedics, Trauma[12] and was Chairman of the charity Discovering Innovative Solutions for Conditions of the Spine (DISCS).[13] He was also a primary editor of The Bone & Joint Journal.[14]

Hughes performed basic research on bone blood flow mineral exchange, musculoskeletal infections and stem cell research. He had a special interest in degenerative disc disease and external fixation of fractures (Hughes-Suhktian fixator).[15]

History of Medicine

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Hughes gave lectures on the history of orthopaedics and, in 2017, delivered the Keats Memorial Lecture at the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, entitled "How Did John Keats’s Medical Training Influence His Poetry?"[16][17] In his 2021 paper on Keats, co-authored with Noell Snell, he argued that historians had been unduly critical in their assessment of James Clarke's treatment of Keats.[18]

From 2021 to 2022, Hughes served as president of the History of Medicine Society at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), London.[19][20] There, he established the Sarah Hughes Trust Lecture, which is delivered annually at the RSM.[20] The annual event includes a prize for work on exposing fake news, awarded jointly by the RSM and the Medical Journalists' Association.[20] He was also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Biography.[19] In 2024, he was named president-elect of the Osler Club of London, succeeding Daniel Sokol.[19][21]

  • Hughes, History of Medicine Society president (2021)
    Hughes, History of Medicine Society president (2021)
  • Hughes presenting the Sarah Hughes Trust Lectureship, RSM, London (2021)
    Hughes presenting the Sarah Hughes Trust Lectureship, RSM, London (2021)
  • Hughes delivering lecture on Keats, RCP, London (2023)
    Hughes delivering lecture on Keats, RCP, London (2023)

Personal life and death

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Hughes married Felicity Mary Anderson and they had two daughters and one son.[6][22] Their elder daughter was the journalist Sarah Hughes.[23]

Hughes died from lung cancer on 4 May 2025, at the age of 83.[19]

Awards and honours

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Selected publications

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Hughes wrote or contributed to over 200 publications in scientific journals, thirty-two chapters in books and thirteen books, including at least one with Rodney Sweetnam.[16][2]

Papers

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General orthopaedics

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  • Hughes, SP; Davies, DR; Bassingthwaighte, JB; Knox, FG; Kelly, PJ (1977). "Bone extraction and blood clearance of diphosphonate in the dog". Am J Physiol. 232 (3): H341-7. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.1977.232.3.H341. PMC 4169266. PMID 402827.
  • "Fluid space in bone". Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Vol. 134, 1 July 1978, pp. 32–341. Co-authored with D.R. Davies, P.J. Kelly and R. Khan, 
  • Court-Brown, C; Hughes, SP (1982). "Experience with the Sukhtian--Hughes external fixation system". J R Soc Med. 75 (12): 949–57. doi:10.1177/014107688207501206. PMC 1438470. PMID 6757433.
  • "Orthopaedics. The principles and practice of musculoskeletal surgery". British Journal of Surgery. Vol. 75, 1988, pp. 623–623. Co-authored with M. K. D’A. Benson and C. L. Colton.

Bone blood flow and fracture healing

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Infection

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Intervertebral disc

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Humanities

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Books

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Book chapters

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Book reviews

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References

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  1. ^ DHMSA, Sean Patrick Hughes. "Sean Patrick Hughes". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b ResearchGate. "Sean Patrick Hughes | MS FRCSEd(Orth; FRCS; FRCSI; DHMSA | Imperial College London, London | Imperial | Division of Surgery". ResearchGate. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ Natasa Levicar (2008). Stem Cell Repair and Regeneration. Vol. 3. Imperial College Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-86094-980-7.
  4. ^ "2015 Meeting Blogs". West Sussex History of Medicine Society. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Just how did John Keats's medical training influence his poetry? – Surgery and Cancer Blog". Surgery and Cancer Blog. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b The International Who's Who, 63rd edition, Europa Publications, 2000, p. 739
  7. ^ "Linkedin- Sean P. F. Hughes". Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ Hughes, Sean P. F. (1977). "The distribution of 99mTc-EHDP in the tissues of the dog and its application in the assessment of fracture healing". Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 59 (4): 322–7. PMC 2491776. PMID 879636.
  9. ^ Kricun, Morrie E. (2012). International Skeletal Society Membership Book. Philadelphia: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 138. ISBN 978-3-642-72122-9.
  10. ^ "History". Imperial College London. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Action Medical Research | Children's Charity". www.action.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  12. ^ Journal of Orthopaedics, Trauma and Rehabilitation Editorial Board.
  13. ^ "Sean Patrick Francis Hughes - Emeritus Professor, England, United Kingdom | eMedEvents". www.emedevents.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  14. ^ Editorial Board (2015). "The Bone and Joint Journal". The Bone & Joint Journal. 97-B (12): 1589–1590. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.97B12.37520.
  15. ^ Leung, P.C. (2012). "2. Biomechanics of Fracture Repair and Fracture Fixation". Current Practice of Fracture Treatment: New Concepts and Common Problems. Springer-Verlag. p. 42. ISBN 978-3-642-78605-1.
  16. ^ a b c The Middlesex Hospital Orthopaedic Department 1920 – 2005 (PDF). Middlesex Hospital.
  17. ^ Ghosh, Hrileena (2020). "Introduction". John Keats' Medical Notebook: Text, Context, and Poems. Oxford University Press. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-78962-061-0.
  18. ^ Kumar, Anup (2024). "23. Doctor's blunders to blame for Keats's agonising death: a controversy". Life, Death & Last Words of John Keats. New Delhi: Blue Rose Publishers. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-93-5989-991-6.
  19. ^ a b c d "Professor Sean Hughes". www.rsm.ac.uk. 21 May 2025. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "Prize for exposing 'fake' health news now open". www.rsm.ac.uk. 17 July 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  21. ^ "President & Council". The Osler Club of London. 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  22. ^ International Who's Who in Medicine 1987, International Biographical Centre, 1987, p. 344
  23. ^ Mesure, Susie (10 April 2021). "Obituary: Sarah Hughes, a journalist whose wit and passion electrified everything she wrote". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  24. ^ a b Heuck, Friedrich H.W. (6 December 2012). International Skeletal Society Book of Members. Springer Verlag. p. 118. ISBN 978-3-642-97056-6.

Further reading

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