A NEW ZEALAND SURGEON

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30592, 7 November 1964, Page 4

A NEW ZEALAND SURGEON

Operation Lifetime. By A. Eisdell Moore. Collins. 231 pp.

This is an extremely readable autobiography by a wellknown Auckland surgeon. The narrative, apart from the author’s childhood, which he suggests that the readers might skip, really begins in the Victorian afterglow of the first decade of the present century. The medical student having left his native New Zealand to qualify in medicine is installed in suitable "digs” in Edinburgh. The year 1914 finds the author qualified, with a background of Edinburgh at one of its most notable periods, a return to New Zealand in 1912 and then back to England to practise as a house surgeon in the Great Northern and East London hospitals. It was exciting to be living in London then and there were many things to be enjoyed within the limits of a poorly paid house surgeon’s purse, including the opportunity of a trip to pre-World War I in Germany. By 1915 Dr. Moore was commissioned in the Royal Army Medical Corps and posted as a junior surgeon to Wimereux base hospital. His work following Neuve Chapelle and Loos was hard and distressing. He had, however, the opportunity of meeting a nursing sister with steady blue eyes to whom he ultimately proposed and married, and to whom he pays sincere and constant tribute throughout the book. In February 1916, Dr. Moore was transferred to the Mesopotamian theatre of war. He describes the complete breakdown of medical services in this campaign and the apalling hardships undergone by

the wounded due to the incompetence of the then Government of India which was responsible for the campaign.

The author contracted typhoid and was invalided back to England in November 1916. For health reasons

he took a sea voyage during his convalescent leave as a ship’s surgeon on the Ruapehu to New Zealand and back. The round voyage ended in May 1917, the Ruapehu having been fitted out as a trooper when she arrived in New Zealand, and taking back with her the 23rd New Zealand reinforcement. On his return to England Dr. Moore married, but because of recurring bouts of typhoid he spent the remainder of the war stationed in Bristol and was later in charge of one of the newly-organised army orthopaedic teams. In 1920, the author commenced general practice in Auckland but in 1926 he changed to consulting. His

description of his experiences there in the 1920’s and the 1930’s as a medical practitioner is told with a reticence which is quite attractive. The impact that the Second World War made on Dr. Moore’s private and professional life in various ways is also described. There were the problems of organising the depleted professional ranks into an “Emergency Night Medical Service.” In 1942, he was president of the Auckland Division of the British Medical Association. He took part in the negotiations with the Government which led to the agreement with the profession over Social Security Medical Benefits. There is also a splendid chapter on the progress of surgery and the final chapters are concerned with post World War II experiences, looking back 1950-62, and retirement. The book furnishes a fascinating review of improvements and changes in surgery during the author’s years of practice. He also deals with the introduction of the anti-biotlcs and the new anaesthetics. With his experience on the executive of the British Medical Association he discusses, as he is well qualified to do, social and political aspects of medicine. He reveals almost unconsciously his deep devotion to his profession and the preservation of its highest ideals. He explains much that is often obscure to the layman about the need for medical etiquette. As the book deals largely with New Zealanders and the New Zealand scene it should be widely read here. If, however the autobiography enjoys a wider popularity it is no more than it and it’s author deserve.