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Obituary: Andrew Oliver Ransford
25th April 1940 – 24th January 2021
Obituary by Michael Edgar and Peter Baird
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Andrew Ransford was not only the tallest orthopaedic surgeon of his generation, but achieved an equivalent stature in his distinguished, entrepreneurial career with his sharp mind and convivial manner.
Andrew, known as ‘Andy’, grew up in Zimbabwe. Supported by a Rhodesian Government Scholarship, he studied Medicine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and then at University College Hospital Medical School, London, qualifying in 1965. At UCH, he was Captain of Rugby and later Club President.
Having passed the English FRCS in 1968, Andrew joined the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) Training Programme, where he developed his interest in Spinal Surgery, writing the classic study into Halo-Pelvic Traction in 1975. After a Spinal Fellowship at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, California, he was appointed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at UCLH in 1977.
In 1980 he joined the Scoliosis Unit at Stanmore. Working with Michael Edgar and others, Andrew developed implants which improved surgical fixation. With more rigorous surgical correction, spinal cord monitoring became a necessary safety net. The sensory monitoring procedure, developed with Dr Stephen Jones of Queen Square became accepted world-wide.
In 1981, with neurosurgeon Alan Crockard, Andrew founded the British Cervical Spine Society. The widely used ‘Ransford Loop’ was developed for upper cervical surgical stabilisation. He opined that all spinal surgery should be multidisciplinary, eventually becoming a single specialty. Whilst simultaneously Presidents of the British Scoliosis Society and the Cervical Spine Society in 1995, he helped to form the British Association of Spinal Surgeons (BASS) and Britspine. With Alan Crockard he was instrumental in establishing the Danny Hill Surgical Skills Laboratory at the Royal College of Surgeons.
Health issues led to his early retirement in 1997 though with his spinal experience he remained in demand as a medico-legal expert until 2013. Andy travelled widely professionally and with his wife Penny and family he enjoyed skiing holidays and trips to Southern Africa to visit family. Even in his debilitating last illness, Andrew maintained his jovial outlook and cautious, questioning mind. He justified his reputation as the ‘The thinking man’s Orthopaedic surgeon’.
