Franklin Adin Simmonds
Franklin Adin ‘Sam‘ Simmonds (1910 – 1983) was an English orthopaedic surgeon.
Simmonds had a reputation for surgical craftsmanship; professional dexterity was mirrored in his plus-one golf handicap.
He was an infrequent writer, however his contributions include significant papers on rotator cuff lesions; acromioclavicular fixation; adolescent hallux valgus correction.
Eponymous affiliation with the Simmonds-Thompson Test for Achilles tendon rupture with Theodore Campbell Thompson (1902-1986)
Biography
- Born on October 31, 1910
- Pre-clinical medicine at Pembroke College, Cambridge (with Golf Blue)
- Clinical studies St Thomas’s Hospital, London
- 1935 – MRCS, LRCP
- 1939 – FRCS. Chief assistant to Rowley Bristow (First specialist orthopaedic surgeon St Thomas’s Hospital, London)
- 1939-1945 Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps, commanded base hospitals in North Africa, Sicily, France and the Far East.
- 1946 – Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital, Pyrford with Alan Apley
- 1951 – Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford
- 1975 – Retired
- Died on July 14, 1983
Medical Eponyms
Simmonds test (1957) [aka *Simmonds-Thompson Test ]
Simmonds-Thompson test is a diagnostic tool for Achilles tendon rupture. The absence of foot plantarflexion on calf compression is interpreted as a positive test result and indicative of Achilles tendon rupture.
Simmonds-Thompson test result should be considered positive when the physical response to calf squeezing is aberrant and the foot fails to plantarflex owing to incongruity of the Achilles tendon, indicative of rupture.
Simmonds description to test for Achilles tendon rupture in 1957:
The patient lies prone and relaxed on a couch with his feet projecting over the edge:
1) Observe the relaxed resting position of the feet. If the tendon is ruptured, the foot is held in less equinus than normal. With the muscle tear there is equal or greater equinus.
2) Squeeze the uninjured calf between fingers and thumb and note the obvious plantar flexion movement produced. Squeeze the injured calf: if the Achilles tendon is torn there is no appreciable foot movement
Should a muscle tear be present, the calf is too swollen and tender to tolerate pressure. If the calf can be squeezed and if, as a result, the foot does not plantar-flex, then the Achilles tendon is ruptured and treatment designed to approximate the torn ends is essential.
Major Publications
- Simmonds FA. The diagnosis of the ruptured Achilles tendon. The Practitioner. 1957; 179(1069): 56-8. [Simmonds test]
- Simmonds FA. The immobile meniscus: a common syndrome in middle age. Postgrad Med J 1964; 40:527–528
- Simmonds FA. Shoulder pain with particular reference to the frozen shoulder. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1949; 31B:426–432
- Simmonds FA. Bilateral bony ankylosis of hip-joints. Proc R Soc Med. 1948; 41(6): 386.
References
Biography
- Obituary: F A Simmonds. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1983 Sep 24; 287(6396): 919.
- Biography: Simmonds, Franklin Adin (1911 – 1983). Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Eponymous terms
- McKennedy C. Simmonds-Thompson Test. Eponym A Day. Instagram
- Eponymythology: Eponymous ankle and talus injuries. LITFL
Cite this article as: Mike Cadogan, "Franklin Adin Simmonds," In: LITFL - Life in the FastLane, Accessed on March 31, 2023, https://litfl.com/franklin-adin-simmonds/.
eponym
the person behind the name
Associate Professor Curtin Medical School, Curtin University. Emergency physician MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | Eponyms | Books | Twitter |