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Thomas Gordon Wadsworth

Thomas Wadsworth was one of the most colourful orthopaedic surgeons of his generation. He was a skilled operator, great innovator, distinguished lecturer, and prolific writer on elbow and hand surgery, his chosen field of expertise. His initial studies at Liverpool University were as a dental student, but he soon followed his older brother into medicine. Between 1970 and 1972, at his own expense, he visited and worked with Dr Swanson—at that time a world leader in hand surgery—in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On returning to England and completing his training, Tom was appointed to St Leonard’s Hospital, looking after the population of the east end of London. His interests and reputation as a pioneer in hand surgery grew, and he introduced to the United Kingdom a prosthetic finger joint known as Swanson’s implant. He also became surgeon at Hackney Hospital and joined the staff of Barts, where he became director of arthritis and hand unit and senior lecturer in the medical school. His contributions to hand and upper limb surgery were substantial. He developed various prosthetic devices, including a bi-cortical screw fixation for the olecranon. His posterolateral approach to the elbow joint, using a triceps tendon release technique, became known as the Wadsworth procedure, and is still practised worldwide. His early studies on the chromosomal abnormalities linked with the elbow carrying angle led to later research on the cubital tunnel syndrome, which results in a compression neuropathy of the ulnar nerve; he developed the Wadsworth Elbow Flexion Test, which is generally used in the diagnosis of the syndrome. As well as his many papers on these and other areas of interest, Tom wrote many chapters for textbooks and, in 1982, produced the first edition of his classic treatise, The Elbow Joint. Tom’s wealth of experience, his clear thinking, and great skills as an orator meant that he was frequently used as an expert opinion. This included television appearances, the topics covering ankle injuries in famous footballers, orthopaedic problems of various members of the royal family, and the orthopaedic implications of stiletto heels; he was a Home Office referee on personal injuries. In latter years, as his diabetic retinopathy progressed, he turned to medico-legal practice and, in 1994, with the same discipline he applied to all aspects of his professional life, gained a legal qualification to support these activities. Tom was equally at home with plaintiff and defendant. He loved eating, particularly with his friends, and was well known to those restaurants that could match his culinary expectations. Tom loved listening to music, especially Mozart. He loved walking and sea views; some of his happiest moments were in his cottage in Portpatrick on the west coast of Scotland.