John Christopher Rutland Lincoln (Figure 1), or Christopher as he was more widely known, was without doubt one of the leading and most influential cardiac surgeons in the world, specialising in the treatment of children. In this regard, he was an early pioneer in the field. He was appointed as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Brompton Hospital in London in 1973. From 1977 through 1986, he was also an honorary cardiac surgeon at the Westminster Hospital in London. He became honorary senior lecturer in paediatric surgery at the Cardiothoracic Institute, then part of the University of London, and Hunterian Professor of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He was a member of the British Cardiac Society, the Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, and the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
From the very beginning, he was intent on a career in cardiothoracic surgery but was very aware of the virtual absence of any service for infants and children born with congenital heart disease, the majority of whom died prematurely. He trained at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, The National Heart Hospital under the legendary surgeon Donald Ross, and at the Brompton and London Chest Hospitals. He became a Clinical and Research Fellow at the Institute of Child Health, again then part of the University of London, and was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Massachusetts General Hospital, sharing its association with Harvard Medical School.
From his appointment to what was later to become The Royal Brompton Hospital, from 1973 until compulsory retirement in 1999, he devoted the greater part of his life to paediatric cardiac surgery, operating on large numbers of children, virtually 6 days every week. Over and above his clinical commitments, he was deeply committed to both clinical and scientific research, publishing 175 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He was never a “committee man,” devoting his time to cardiac surgery, training, teaching, and facilitating research.
He was also devoted to teaching young trainees, not only from the United Kingdom, but also from many countries around the world. From 1977 onwards, he trained 28 visiting foreign clinical cardiac surgical fellows, usually sponsored by their own governments. They came from Europe, particularly Scandinavia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, North America, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, and beyond. It was a remarkable achievement. Many, if not most, of those trainees returned home to establish excellent cardiac services for children in their own countries. The success of the training programme was also facilitated by the ability of the Brompton team to be so welcoming and supportive. Together with Elliot Shinebourne, Christopher had been instrumental in setting up the “Brompton team,” which included cardiac morphologist, writer, and researcher Bob Anderson, and subsequently cardiologists Michael Rigby, Andrew Redington, Jan Till, Piers Daubeney, and cardiac surgeon Darryl Shore. Together, they formed a formidable group, with Christopher taking the lead in focusing on the need to maintain the highest standards of clinical care, teaching, and research, but always in a friendly and welcoming environment.
As part of these teaching and research activities and with the help of Bob Anderson and Elliot Shinebourne, he was instrumental in organising, at the Brompton Hospital, important international postgraduate symposia. In this way, he was able to bring to London cardiac surgeons with Worldwide reputations, such as John Kirklin from Birmingham, Alabama, and Francis Fontan from Bordeaux, permitting them to talk about their work and describe the latest techniques for improving paediatric cardiac surgery, as well as advances in diagnosis and management. From the outset of his appointment, he showed his excellence at palliative surgical procedures. His construction of systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunts in newborn infants with cyanotic heart disease and his repair of aortic coarctation were recognised as things of beauty. But he moved flawlessly with the times, changing without breaking step from the atrial to the arterial switch operations for infants with life-threatening transposition of the great arteries, performing both operations with great skill. His publications were focused on the understanding of major congenital heart lesions, the description of innovative surgical techniques and new operations, and providing explanations of how to avoid complications to the heart and brain as a consequence of open heart surgery. His was a truly remarkable life and career. He was apt to offer sound advice to both trainees and colleagues, for example, suggesting “never drive past your hospital without going to see your patients.” He will be sorely missed, but remembered with gratitude by colleagues, patients, and friends.
John Christopher Rutland Lincoln, 10-12-1933–21-3-2026.
