Features
Major Alexander William Lipmann-Kessel MBE MC: Surgeon, paratrooper, prisoner of war, and orthopaedic innovator Simon Hurst, Dylan Griffiths and Roger Emery
Origins and training
Simon Hurst is a Trauma & Orthopaedic surgeon and reservist serving with 144 Parachute Medical Squadron, 16 Medical Regiment. He is currently pursuing fellowship training at Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Avicenne, France, and Shock Trauma, University of Maryland, USA. His doctoral thesis at Imperial College examined the digitalisation of PROMS. He has post-doctoral research interests both at Imperial College, and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France. These are in the fields of surgical robotics, and the use of augmented reality headsets to enhance surgeon capability. Simon’s subspecialty interests are in upper limb surgery, and the battlefield forward surgical care of major trauma patients.
Alexander William Lipmann-Kessel was of diverse heritage being born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1914 to a German mother, and a Lithuanian father. ‘Lippy,’ as he was better known was of Jewish heritage, and a practising Jew throughout his life. In early adulthood he moved to London to study medicine at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. The LipmannKessel prize day remains an important part of the academic calendar for orthopaedic trainees on the London North West Thames rotation1-4.
The Parachute Surgical Team Lipmann-Kessel volunteered for the Airborne Forces shortly after finishing medical school, and passed selection at No 1 Parachute Training School, Ringway, Manchester, (Figure 1).
His first operational activity was as part of 16 Parachute Field Hospital, (16 PFA), (Figure 2) during Operation Fustian, an ultimately successful bid to capture the strategically important Primosole Bridge in Sicily. Fustian saw the first successful deployment of ‘The Parachute Surgical Team (PST)’, (Figure 3). Lipmann-Kessel was a principle pioneer of this concept. Airborne operations allowed for rapid insertion behind enemy lines but, placed troops outside of the normal chain of medical care. The PST included a surgeon, an anaesthetist, and four other para trained members from other ranks with focus on nursing, and other medical training. 80% of cases were operated on within five hours of injury. Musculoskeletal injuries including seven open long bone fractures comprised the majority of cases5.
Operation Market Garden 1944
Figure 1: No 1 Parachute Training School, Ringway, Manchester – provided training to all 60,000 allied paratroopers in Europe between 1940 and 1946. (Image courtesy of Imperial War Museum, London, UK).
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The PST has evolved into the modern ‘forward surgical team,’ and continues to be an important capability on contemporary military operations.
On the afternoon of the 17th September 1944, Lipmann-Kessel and the rest of 16 PFA landed on drop zone (DZ) X en-route to a Dutch hospital in western Arnhem – St Elisabeth’s. Here they treated early casualties from the 10,000 strong Allied airborne forces whose aim was to circumvent German lines through the capture of key bridges (Operation Market) and then hold them until reinforcements
