Ian Philip Torode
Ian Philip Torode
Orthopaedic Surgeon
31 October 1949- 9 August 2015
It is a pleasure to provide a tribute to Mr Ian Torode who died at the comparatively early age of 65 on the 9 August 2015. Torode, the son of a general practitioner in Colac was an outstanding student at the Geelong College culminating, as captain of the school, as well as a number of sports teams. He proceeded to read medicine at Melbourne University (Ormond College). He was then a resident medical officer at the Geelong Hospital finding his niche on the orthopaedic unit where he impressed us with his enthusiasm and ability.
My late colleague Mr Richard MacArthur had participated in the orthopaedic training program at Hartford, Connecticut and on his very strong recommendation Torode was accepted onto this prestigious Orthopaedic Training Program as an overseas trainee. On completion of his basic orthopaedic training he was accepted as a trainee fellow at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, and on completion of this fellowship was appointed to the staff of this hospital working on the spinal unit. The Toronto Hospital for Sick Children is one of the world's premier children's hospitals with an orthopaedic unit of world-renown.
We had hopes that on return to Australia, Torode would join us on the orthopaedic unit at the Geelong Hospital. However, considering his training and expertise in complex paediatric orthopaedic surgery, it was obviously more appropriate for him to join the Orthopaedic Unit at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. He continued his association with Geelong and used to come and do weekend locums on the orthopaedic unit. Later he lived at Torquay, shuttling up and down to the Children's Hospital. His two sons attended The Geelong College where the younger is still at school.
His funeral was to be held at St David's Presbyterian Church adjacent to The Geelong College but it became obvious that this church was going to be far too small. With a great ecumenical spirit it became possible to conduct the funeral at the extremely large St Mary's Basilica. Even so there was standing room only for some 1300 attending friends, relations, colleagues and patients who came from far and near.
Ian Torode was an extremely thoughtful, innovative, empathetic, and able Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon. He was very happy to stand on his principles and argue for what he considered to be right. His early death has been a great loss to his family, to the Royal Children's Hospital and his patients and to the art and science of Orthopaedic Surgery.
William Huffam FRACS
"…Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time…"
Ian Torode was a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon of renown. Educated at Geelong College, he had displayed his leadership qualities at an early stage as the school captain and in many sporting achievements on land and on sea. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1973 and pursued his interest in orthopaedic surgery in England (1977), at Connecticut, Hartford (American Boards of Orthopaedic Surgery, 1980) and at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (FRCS (Can) 1981). He was appointed orthopaedic surgery consultant at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne in 1983, and served this Hospital with energy and enthusiasm for 32 years. He was the Director of Orthopaedics at the time he died.
Ian's interests were the whole of orthopaedics. He had an instinctive feel for biology and biomechanics and an outstanding ability to think laterally, and then to devise and innovate solutions for the most complex problems in trauma, congenital bone and joint deformities, spine conditions and haemophilia. His erudition and experience made him a popular officer and chairman of many distinguished local and world-wide orthopaedic organisations.
He was a brilliant academic and had contributed many papers to major Australian and international journals. He was a teacher of repute and gave inspiration to many contemporaries. His peers will attest that he was a resourceful and technically superb surgeon and had excellent rapport with his patients and their families.
In 1993, Ian was sent by Project China of the College to start a program of surgical exchange in Guangzhou. Together with Peter Turner, they distinguished themselves with their surgical repertoire, and stamped the excellence of Australasian surgery in China. For his scholarship and many contributions to the College, Ian was elected Fellow in 1996 and awarded the RACS Medal in 1998.
Gordon Low, Gary Nattrass and Kerr Graham