Operating on the Frontier

When Frank Turnbull came from Toronto to join the staff of the Vancouver General Hospital in 1933 as a brain surgeon, he automatically became Chief Neurosurgeon because he was the only one in the province. When he retired at 81 he was among BC's most distinguished physicians, in sharp contrast to his early years, when regular physicians considered neurosurgery something of a pseudo-science on the outer fringe of serious medicine. Turnbull shudders now to think of the operations performed before the advent of antibiotics or decent anaesthetics, but marvels at the advancement he witnessed over six decades of practice. In his book he relates many fascinating stories about his encounters with the mysteries of the human brain, as well as dealing with the larger issues in the development of modem medicine.