John Nevil Insall (1930–2000) was a pioneering English

orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

surgeon who contributed extensively to the advancement of orthopedic surgery and total

knee replacement Knee replacement, also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability, most commonly offered when joint pain is not diminished by conservative sources. ...

surgery. Insall designed four models of widely used systems, including the ground breaking Total Condylar Knee in 1974. Insall is known as the father of modern knee surgery along with his school compatriot and mate M.A.R. Freeman (earlier Freeman-Swanson Knee). Insall was born in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, England to Margaret Insall (née Allen) and James Insall. He attended

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

, graduating in 1953. He worked as a physician and orthopedic surgeon in England and Canada before joining the

Hospital for Special Surgery Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is an academic medical center and research institution headquartered in New York City that specializes in the treatment of orthopedic and rheumatologic conditions. Its main campus is located at 535 East 70th S ...

(HSS) in New York City in 1961. He founded the Insall Scott Kelly Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine (ISK) after a nearly 30-year career at HSS and the Knee Society. In addition to his pre-eminent knee textbook Surgery of the Knee (Churchill-Livingstone, 1984, 2000), Insall wrote approximately 150 peer-reviewed articles, 41 book chapters and 5 books. He has also trained over 200 orthopaedic residents and 100 national and internationally recognized fellows throughout his career. Insall died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 30 December 2000, at Beth Israel Medical Center in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Insall is survived by his wife Mary, children John and Amanda, and his grand children John and Emi Insall. His publications include the following: * ''Current concepts in primary and revision total knee arthroplasty'' (Lippincott-Raven, 1996) * ''Surgery of the knee'', Volume 1 (Churchill Livingstone, first edition 1984, second edition 2000) A founding member of the Knee Society, the John Insall award was established to honor Insall's achievements and contributions to orthopaedics. This award recognizes outstanding papers concerning clinical results and techniques. The John N. Insall Travelling Fellowship is awarded to four candidates internationally. This award allows those individuals to travel to prominent knee surgery centers. The John N. Insall Foundation continues to advance orthopedic surgery. Insall will be remembered as one of the most important contributors to modern orthopaedics.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Insall, John 1930 births 2000 deaths British orthopaedic surgeons Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Medical doctors from Bournemouth Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 20th-century English medical doctors Physicians of Hospital for Special Surgery 20th-century English surgeons