Peter John Ryan OAM, MS, FRCS, FRACS, FISA (Hon), [1] (25 November 1925 – 3 June 2002) was a consultant surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Dookie, Victoria in 1925, and attended Assumption College, Kilmore [2] . He qualified in medicine at the University of Melbourne in 1948. He led the first St Vincent’s Hospital civilian surgical team to work in Long Xuyen, Vietnam, from October 1965 - January 1966. In 1986 he was made Hunterian Professor of Surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons (London) and delivered his oration on diverticular disease. In 1988 he published "A Very Short Textbook of Surgery" (3rd edition, 1994, Chapman and Hall, London), and this was also translated into Indonesian and Mandarin. He also worked as an honorary consultant surgeon one morning per month for almost 20 years from 1981, at the VAHS (Victorian Aboriginal Health Service). He died from cancer on 3 June 2002. [3] [4]
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service. Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours.
St Vincent's Hospital is a major hospital in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Ryan was President of the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons [5] from 1986 to 1988 and colorectal cancer was a major medical study of his professional life. Ryan chaired the ISUCRS's Congress in Melbourne in 1980.
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer and colon cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum. A cancer is the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel movements, weight loss, and feeling tired all the time.
Another of his medical lifetime interests was road safety and driving. He was a founding member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' Road Trauma Committee, [6] which was partially responsible for the introduction of compulsory seat belts in cars in Victoria, in 1970, the first state in the world to pass such a law (Seat belt legislation). In May 1965 Ryan supported a motion to investigate the causes of road accidents in Australia. [7]
Seat belt legislation requires the fitting of seat belts to motor vehicles and the wearing of seat belts by motor vehicle occupants to be mandatory. Laws requiring the fitting of seat belts to cars have in some cases been followed by laws mandating their use, with the effect that thousands of deaths on the road have been prevented. Different laws apply in different countries to the wearing of seat belts.
In 1996 the Peter Ryan Prize for Surgical Research for final year St Vincent’s medical students was established in his honour.
