Professor Brian Leigh Warren
A tribute to one of our most gifted Surgical teachers.
Born in East London on 6 July 1950, Brian Leigh Warren grew up and remained close to the sea and the hills of the Eastern Cape. After completing his schooling at Selborne College in East London, he obtained his MBChB with honours at the University of Cape Town in 1974, followed by his internship and medical officer years at Groote Schuur Hospital. His surgical training was at Stellenbosch University, with his MMed being awarded cum laude in 1985 and FRCS from the University of Edinburgh the following year.
Professor Warren was a longstanding and resolute presence in and on our South African Surgical Societies and Boards. He was a founding member of the South African Society of Endoscopic Surgeons, reflecting his early adoption and love for the laparoscope. At Stellenbosch he was appointed as senior lecturer in 1985 and Head of Surgical Gastroenterology in 1991. Brian was inaugurated as Professor in 1995 and appointed Head of the Division of Surgery in 2002, a position he distinguished himself in for 15 years. Ten of these years included being the Executive Head of the Department of Surgical Sciences. His commitment and leadership in the Division of Surgery for a period of thirty years was steadfast and he became the talisman around whom his colleagues could thrive and expect excellent advice.
His love for his family, especially his ‘laatlam’ Lara, his love for cricket, his remarkable intelligence and broad surgical knowledge, his excellent memory, his wry sense of humour, his calm and respectful manner, his exceptional understanding of human nature and his moral clarity in challenging medicolegal and ethical issues will be remembered. But it was his teaching that had the biggest impact on the generations of doctors and specialists he helped shape.
Professor Warren was a favourite among medical students, while the surgeons trained by him still quote him daily. Registrars known for sleeping in tutorials stayed awake when he spoke – gripped by his encyclopaedic surgical knowledge and the ease with which he could simplify and solve problems. His command of his subject was an inspiration to those he taught. He insisted on teaching at the bedside. The nuances of thorough history-taking and examination were taught by him with a visible love for surgery and compassion for patients. The magic of Brain Warren teaching at the bedside or in the classroom will be the abiding memory that most of us will hold dear. He had a tacit belief in his trainees and he inspired a rigorous example of how a surgeon should think and act.
He built a Division where all members are respected, support each other unfailingly, embrace change, grow continuously, delight in the challenge of hard work and long hours, and, although small, come together as one cohesive unit. This is his legacy. I cannot think of a better one.
Professor Warren, you can rest well now. Your voice will live on in the tumours and traumas we treat and every time we speak to a patient or a young doctor.