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William Attree (died 1846): Royal and army surgeon who underwent amputation of the leg at Brighton, England (1807).

Authors :
Cooper MJ
Whiston B
Cooper S
Source :
Journal of medical biography [J Med Biogr] 2024 Nov; Vol. 32 (4), pp. 359-372. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Apr 25.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

William Attree (1780-1846) came from a prominent family in Brighton, England. He studied medicine at St Thomas' Hospital, London, and there was unwell for nearly 6 months with severe 'spasms' of the hand/arm/chest (1801-1802). Attree qualified Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1803 and served as dresser to Sir Astley Paston Cooper (1768-1841). In 1806 Attree is recorded as 'Surgeon and Apothecary' of Prince's street, Westminster. In 1806 Attree's wife died in childbirth and the following year he underwent emergency amputation of the foot in Brighton following a road traffic accident. Attree served as surgeon in the Royal Horse Artillery at Hastings, presumably in a regimental or garrison hospital. He went onto become surgeon to the Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, and Surgeon Extraordinary to two Kings: George IV and William IV. In 1843 Attree was appointed as one of the original 300 Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons. He died in Sudbury, near Harrow. His son William Hooper Attree (1817-1875) was surgeon to Don Miguel de Braganza, the former King of Portugal. The medical literature appears to lack a history of nineteenth century doctors (especially military surgeons) with physical disability. Attree's biography goes a small way towards developing this field of enquiry.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1758-1087
Volume :
32
Issue :
4
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of medical biography
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37097900
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/09677720231167857