Alexander Keith Jeffery

Alexander Keith Jeffery ONZM FRCS FRACS
5 August 1934 - 1 July 2015
Orthopaedic Surgeon

Keith was born in Milton, the second son of Bill Jeffery, a stock and station agent, and his wife Reta. He had two brothers Garry, the elder, and Grant. The family moved to Anderson's Bay in Dunedin when Keith was an infant. He initially attended Anderson's Bay Primary school, where his grandfather had been the first headmaster. As a teenager, he attended Kings High School where he was a prefect and played rugby as a loose forward in the First XV.

Keith won a place at the Otago Medical School and graduated in 1958, subsequently working in Dunedin Hospital as a house surgeon. He met Knola, a recently graduated nurse, in the operating theatre. A strong, mutually supportive relationship was cemented by their marriage a year later.

By the end of the two house surgeon years, Keith had decided to specialise in orthopaedic surgery. In 1965, along with Knola and their small daughter Kate, he set off to the UK to undertake specialist training, very quickly becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1965. He held posts in Oswestry, Oxford, and Exeter. In Exeter Keith worked with RSM Ling, who was very involved in the design and engineering of prostheses. Keith also visited Wrightington where John Charnley had established the principles of low-friction arthroplasty and implant fixation, and was working on the development of a clean-air surgical environment. Back in New Zealand Keith performed one of the first hip replacement operations in New Zealand.

Keith, Knola, Kate, and a new baby, Alistair, returned to New Zealand in 1968 with his appointment as specialist orthopaedic surgeon at Dunedin Hospital, a position he held until 2000. Following his return Keith gained his FRACS and in 1975 he completed his ChM (Otago). During 1972 he was an ABC Travelling Fellow travelling through North America. He revisited the University of Oxford as a Commonwealth Fellow in 1976-77 and in 1989 was awarded the Gold Medal and guest lectureship at Oswestry.

In 1982, Keith succeeded Alan Alldred as Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in Dunedin. His academic interests and enquiring mind resulted in a lifelong pursuit of meaningful scientific research. He became a world authority on the structure and function of articular cartilage. With Mark Walton he created a well-respected research department which attracted post-graduate students. He also had a keen interest in the management of amputees and the science of prosthetics, and served on the Artificial Limb Board for many years.

Keith had a natural ability to engage with people of all ages and from all walks of life, in an uncomplicated way. He loved teaching, especially undergraduates, for whom his tutorials were superbly planned and illustrated; students seldom skipped them. His bedside teaching was inspiring. He structured his operating lists as teaching masterclasses for registrars, and served as a RACS examiner. A legacy of Keith's leadership has been a strong, enduring, department commitment to teaching.

Having served on a number of New Zealand Orthopaedic Association Committees, Keith became the 25th President of the Association in 1993, and he and Knola were great ambassadors for New Zealand orthopaedics at home and abroad. Keith was well known in British orthopaedics and in particular Oswestry, Oxford and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, where he spent a number of sabbaticals working on cartilage research in collaboration with George Bentley. He lectured extensively on various orthopaedic topics and in 2007 he was invited to give the College of Surgeons Hamilton Russel Lecture. In the same year he was presented with the NZOA President's Award for services to the Association. In 2003 Keith became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Orthopaedic Surgery.

On his retirement Keith energetically pursued his interest in the history of the Dunedin Hospital and the School of Medicine. He thoroughly enjoyed researching historical figures in medicine, especially orthopaedic pioneers. He presented regularly at the Otago Medical School Alumnus Association history meetings in Dunedin and was a member of its Executive Committee. He had a keen interest in historical maps and over the years built up an important collection, which will remain in Dunedin.

Keith was passionate about his career, loved his profession immensely and, with Knola, was part of a close family. In his later years, he suffered a significant number of health challenges, which he faced with enormous dignity and strength and a complete lack of fuss or self-pity. He died from complications of stroke on 1 July 2015. Keith is survived by his wife, Knola, his children Kate, Alistair, and Penny, and 10 grandchildren, all of whom miss him greatly.

Lesley and Bill Gillespie FRACS, with the assistance of Keith's family and friends