Edward Thomas Campbell Milligan 1886–1972

Abstract

Cambell Milligan was born June 23, 1886, at Waterloo, near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the son of a gold miner. After the gold vein ran out, his family moved near Melbourne where he was raised with the devout Methodist philosophy.

Milligan attended Ballarat College and received his medical training at Melbourne University, graduating with honors in 1910. He received his M.D. in 1912 and was awarded a gold medal. He went to France with the Australian Expeditionary Force in 1914 and distinguished himself by the application of radical exploration and debridement of wounds. For this he was relieved of operating by the consultant surgeon until his visionary approach became generally accepted. At the conclusion of the war, he received the O.B.E.

He then settled in London and became consultant to a number of hospitals, including St. Marks. He developed a particular interest in anal diseases and became extremely adept in performing a combined abdominoperineal resection. It is said that he was “master of surgical planes and deft atraumatic dissection, and even after the most major procedures, his patients look undisturbed.” One of Campbell Milligan's truly outstanding achievements was the work that he and his junior colleagues prepared on the detailed anatomy of the pelvis and sphincter mechanism—the subject of thisClassic presentation.

Among his many other interests and talents was his athletic prowess. He was a gold medalist at skiing (slalom) and played tennis up to “Wimbledon standards.” He and his wife became associated with an organization called, “Moral Rearmament”; their home, in fact, became known as the Church on Harley Street.

He died, January 4, 1972, at the age of 85.