AO MD MS FRCS FRACS FRCSEd (Hon) Hon DSc (Univ. Melbourne)
It is with very great sadness that we report the death of the President of DISCS, Henry V Crock .
Harry founded DISCS in 1993 to search for ways to prevent and eliminate disc related pain, disability and the trauma of surgery, later becoming President of the charity.
A renowned spinal surgeon, who made significant contributions to both the anatomical structure and the blood supply of the spine and also to the clinical practice of spinal surgery Harry was educated in Perth, Australia and trained in Oxford under Professor Trueta. He worked in Australia before returning to England in the late 1980’s where he established a significant spinal surgical practice based at The Hammersmith and the Cromwell Hospitals London.
Harry was awarded the Order of Australia in 1984 for his contribution to spinal surgery. He was the author of many papers and several textbooks, including the major work: An Atlas of Vascular Anatomy of the Skeleton and Spinal Cord. He lectured extensively around the world and was President of the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, (ISSLS) in 1984.
Harry truly cared for his patients and was continually striving to improve patient safety after spinal surgery. He will be sorely missed by all at DISCS as well as the research workers and clinicians who have undertaken research into spinal disease and funded by DISCS.
His legacy will remain in the shape of the prestigious Henry V Crock lecture, which has been delivered annually by eminent clinicians and research workers from around the world and is now given at the annual meeting of the Society for Back Pain Research.