W. Robert Harris

Biography

• Born December 19, 1922 son of Prof Robert Inkerman Harris, the first Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Toronto General Hospital
• 1945 – graduated with a Honours in Medicine in Toronto
• 1945 – Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Canadian Navy
• 1946 – married Barbara-Drew Brook and was Father to four children and then Grandfather to ten grandchildren
• 1947 – studied Histology under Professor Arthur Ham, contributing to his textbook of Histology with regards to fracture healing
• 1948-1952 – postgraduate Orthopedic Surgical training, going on to do Fellowships in Europe
• 1953 Orthopaedic Surgeon, University of Toronto
• Professor Emeritus of Surgery, University of Toronto
• Examiner at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
• 1968 – President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association
• Died December 14, 2005 from pancreatic cancer in Toronto, Canada

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Medical Eponyms

Salter-Harris Classification (1963)

Salter-Harris classification of fractures describes injuries involving the epiphyseal plate of any bone. Epiphyseal injuries are significant in patients who are still ‘growing’ and significant complications, such as disturbance of growth, are avoided by recognition of such an injury to the epiphyseal plate

1963 – Robert Bruce Salter (1924-2010) and Harris collaborated on the classification of fractures that affect the epiphyseal plate. The purpose of their classification system was to improve the Medical Practitioner’s knowledge of the management for injuries to the epiphyseal plate and to avoid serious growth disturbances as a consequence of poor treatment

Harris insisted that his name should follow Salter’s, as he felt the basic science component he had researched had been far less than the clinical research Salter had performed.

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Controversies

Date of birth and death

Most commonly cited as Born 1922, and Died December 13, 2005. However…

• Date of birth: Confirmed with cenotaph as December 19, 1922
• Date of death confirmed as December 14, 2005 by cenotaph and obituary notice in the The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

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Major Publications

• Harris WR. The early diagnosis of slipped femoral epiphysis. Can Med Assoc J. 1955 Jun 1;72(11):835-7. [PMC1825915]
• Harris WR. Surgical procedures of value in rheumatoid arthritis. Can Med Assoc J. 1956 Apr 1; 74(7): 512–514. [PMC1823120]
• Harris WR, Hobson KW. Histological changes in experimentally displaced upper femoral epiphyses in rabbits. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1956 Nov;38-B(4):914-21. [PMID 13376679]
• Dale GG, Harris WR. Prognosis of epiphysial separation: an experimental study. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1958 Feb;40-B(1):116-22. [PMID 13513660]
• Harris WR. Trigger Wrist with Intermittent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Can Med Assoc J. 1961 Apr 29;84(17):963. [PMC1939529]
• Salter RB, Harris WR. Injuries involving the epiphyseal plate. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American) 1963; 45(3): 587-622 [Salter-Harris Classification]

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References

Biography

• W. Robert Harris. The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Mon, 19 Dec 2005
• Salter RB. W. Robert Harris (1922–2005). J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 2006;88-B:698.

Eponymous terms

• Hunter TB, Peltier LF, Lund PJ. Radiologic history exhibit. Musculoskeletal eponyms: who are those guys? RadioGraphics 2000; 20: 819-36. [Full Text]