Dr Sampson Lipton
Personal Details
Dr Sampson Lipton MB ChB FFARCS DA
Known as: Sam
18/04/1922 to 06/12/1994
Place of birth: Liverpool, England
Nationality: British
CRN: 508319
Education and qualifications
| General education | Liverpool Institute. Medical School, University of Liverpool |
|---|---|
| Primary medical qualification(s) | MB ChB, University of Liverpool, 1944 |
| Initial Fellowship and type | FFARCS by Election |
| Year of Fellowship | 1953 |
| Other qualification(s) | DA (RCP&S), 1949 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
By 1947 Lipton was appointed as resident anaesthetist at Walton Hospital, Liverpool. In 1949 he was Visiting Anaesthetist to Bootle General Hospital, Mill Road Infirmary in Liverpool and Wallasey Hospital. He was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist to the Mersey Regional Neurosurgical Unit based at Walton Hospital in 1950. He remained in this post until his retirement in 1983.
Professional interests and activities
Lipton was a member of the Liverpool Society of Anaesthetists, a founder member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), second President of the Intractible Pain Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and President of the World Society of Pain Clinicians 1984-91. He embraced the management of chronic pain from as early as 1953-54. He led the formation of the Centre for Pain Relief at Walton Hospital, which provided services from the mid-1960s. With John Miles (Consultant Neurosurgeon) and David Bowsher (Reader at the University of Liverpool) he established the Pain Relief Foundation at Walton Hospital in 1979. This supported the founding of the Pain Research Institute there in 1981 with Lipton as Medical Director; he was also a clinical lecturer at the University of Liverpool. He published about 40 peer reviewed papers on various aspects of pain management, most notably on percutaneous cervical cordotomy. Editor of several volumes in a series titled “Persistent Pain: Modern Methods of Treatment” (1977-84), he was also the author of the book “Relief of Pain in Clinical practice” (1979), and of the chapter “Percutaneous Cordotomy” in Melzack and Wall’s “Textbook of Pain” (1984). Numerous awards came his way: Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of England 1980, OBE 1984, Pask Certificate of Honour from the Association of Anaesthetists 1986, honorary MD by the University of Liverpool 1987, and honorary membership of the IASP 1989.
Other biographical information
He married Gloria Fox in 1954 and they had two sons, who both became medical consultants. His colleagues noted his wide interests and sense of humour. In retirement he attained a BA in mathematics from the Open University (1985). He died of cancer at the age of 72, survived by his family.
Author and sources
Author:
Dr Alistair McKenzie
Sources and comments:
[1] Bowsher D. Obituary S Lipton OBE, FFARCS (with photograph). BMJ 1995; 310: 1000. [2] Medical Registers and Directories. [3] ancestry.co.uk