The Worshipful Company of Cutlers
SURGICAL PRIZE
For Advances in Instrumentation in Surgery
THE ANCIENT GUILDS OF THE CITY OF LONDON
The ancient guilds of the City of London, more commonly referred
to as livery companies, continue to flourish after a history of more
than a thousand years. They were first established to regulate the
various crafts and trades and at the same time created a common
fellowship. Each member subscribed to a common fund; hence is
derived the word gild or guild from guildan ('to pay').
THE CUTLERS' COMPANY
The first mention of the Cutlers' Company seems to be the
reference in 1285 to the 'House of the Cutlers' which stood near
the site of the present Mercers' Hall in Ironmonger Lane in the
City of London. It is apparent that early in the 13th century the
Cutlers were an organised craft and ruled under Articles granted by
the Mayor and Aldermen. The business activities conducted from
the House were many and defined as the making of swords,
daggers, rapiers, hangers, wood knives, penknives, razors,
surgeons instruments, skeynes, hilts, pommels, battle-axes,
halberts, etc. Many crafts were involved, each with its own
organisation and ordinances. The word 'cutler' is derived from the
Latin coutellarius and the French coutelier and signifies a maker
or seller of knives or other cutting instruments. The art has existed
from the earliest times, when weapons for domestic use and
warfare were fashioned from stone, flint, wood and bone; later,
stone was replaced by bronze, and later still, by iron and steel.
SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS
The Company has a long connection with the manufacture of surgical
instruments and for the last hundred years has maintained its
interest by fostering apprenticeships in the surgical instrumentmaking industry.
THE CUTLERS’ SURGICAL PRIZE
The Cutlers' Surgical Prize was instituted in 1981 and has become
established as one of the most prestigious annual prizes for
innovation in the design or application of surgical instruments or
surgical techniques. It consists of an elegant mounted Victorian
silver-gilt medal, together with an award of £1,000 to the winner or
winning team. The presentation is made at a dinner held at Cutlers'
Hall in the spring of each year.
Each year the specialist associations, in conjunction with The Royal
College of Surgeons of England, choose a clinician (or a team
including a clinician) who has performed outstanding work in the
field of instrumentation or technical development in any branch of
patient investigation or treatment. The person(s) selected will be
recommended to the Worshipful Company of Cutlers for approval
and for the award of the Cutlers' Surgical Prize.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications are now invited for the 2015 award. Each application
should be submitted on the form provided and should be in regard to
one specific instrument or technique. Major modification of an
existing instrument or technique will be considered.
Applications (6 copies) should be in the form of a scientific paper
with a maximum of 3,000 words, supported by illustrations and/or
photographs. A video is not part of an application but could be used
as supplementary support following short-listing.
The applications must include the following by the closing date:
1. Evidence of originality, innovation, date of development, clinical
usage and an explanation of benefits in patient care and benefit.
2. Written evidence from one or more independent referees as to
the surgical application is essential and must be attached.
Applications should be sent to:
The Clerk
The Worshipful Company of Cutlers
Cutlers' Hall
Warwick Lane
London EC4M 7BR
Tel: 020 7248 1866
Details and application form are available from the Royal College of
Surgeons website at www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgical awards and grants
and the Worshipful Company of Cutlers website at
www.cutlerslondon.co.uk/charities
The closing date for receipt of applications is 31 October 2014.
The Award Panel consists of:
The President of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
(Chairman)
A senior representative of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers
A specialist advisor to the Royal College of Surgeons
A senior executive of the Royal College of Surgeons
Senior Clinical specialists in the relevant disciplines
Applicants meeting the criteria will be invited to provide a sample of
the instrument and/or a video (where appropriate) after the closing
date before the Award Panel meets.
The person or team recommended to receive the Prize will be
invited to attend the Company’s Surgical Award Dinner in the
spring of 2015.
PAST WINNERS OF THE CUTLERS' SURGICAL PRIZE
1982 Mr W J Hoskin BSc (Eng)
for his invention and development of a diamond knife for ophthalmology
1983 Mr B S Ashby MChir FRCS
for the design of a choledocoscope for identifying stones in the gall bladder and
removing them.
1984 Mr L F Tinckler MD ChM FRCS
for the design of instruments for use in urology
1985 Mr J E A Wickham BSc MS FRCS, Mr R A Miller MS FRCS and Herr K Koller
for their development of a triradiate nephroscope for the removal of kidney
stones.
1986 Mr C J K Bulstrode MA FRCS
for his invention of a fasciotomy closure device for closing large wounds.
1987 Dr S J Yentis MB BS
for his invention of an adapter for laryngoscopes
1988 Mr J D Beard BSc FRCS
for his invention of an infusor for measuring peripheral resistance for femorodistal
reconstruction.
1989 Dr A J Hammer MB ChB
for his invention of an electronic device to warn of glove perforation during
surgical procedures.
1990 Mr S S Gill MB FRCS
for his invention of an expansible cannula for chest drain insertion
1991 Mr P J Burn MB ChB FRACS
for his invention of a distal cross-screw drill system for intramedullary nailing for
the treatment of bone fractures.
1992 Mr A W Majeed FRCS (Ed)
for the Sheffield Cholecystoscope and gall bladder stone extraction.
1993 Mr J D Stevens MA MB BChir MRCP FRCS FRCOpth
for his invention of a no-needle one quadrant sub-tenon local anaesthesia
technique and cannula design for extraction.
1994 Mr B Bradnock MB ChB FRCS Ed
for his development of an ultrasonic instrument which can liquefy the cement
used to anchor artificial joints to bone.
1995 Dr E McCoy MB BCh and Dr R Mirakhur PhD MD
for their invention of a laryngoscope with a hinged-top blade designed to minimise
trauma to the patient.
1996 Mr Nigel Morlet MB BS RACO FRACS and Dr Peter Lindsay BSc(Hons) MSc PhD
for their invention of a Keratoscopic Astigmatic Ruler designed to provide a means
of assessing corneal astigmatism induced during surgery.
1997 Ms S Akhtar FRCS and Mr J M Graham FRCS
for the 'Middlesex Mirror'.
1998 Mr M A Lavelle MA BM BV FRCS
for the Illuminating Diathermy Dissector' for use in the operation of anterior
resection of the rectum
1999 Mr D L Murphy MB BS FRACS
for a 'Second Generation Endoscopic Needle Holder' for increasing the ease with
which intra-corporeal suturing and knot tying can be undertaken.
2000 Professor BP Waxman FRACS FRCS
for his invention of an Irrigating Scalpel for the dissection of adhesions in
abdominal surgery.
2001 Mr S Rassam MD, DO, FRCO phth
for his invention of mathematical formulae for the design of micro surgical
instruments for opthalmic surgery.
2002 Mr E Andrews FRCS FRCSI
for a new specifically designed forceps for chest drain insertion.
2003 Mr W Lawrence BSc MB ChB FRCS
for a supra-pubic catheter introducer.
2004 Mr B Thornes FRCSI
for a suture button device for use in conjunction with a new method of ankle
syndemosis fixation.
2005 Mr S Cannon FRCS, Mr T Briggs FRCS, Professor G Blum PhD,
Mr J Meswania BSc I Eng MIIE
for a non-invasive instrument for extending a telescoping endoprosthesis
2006 Mr P Montgomery MB ChB, Mr R Young MD FRCS
for a clip applicator for endoscopic ligation of the sphenopalatine artery.
2007 Dr M Hasan MB ChB DA FRCA, Dr J Roberts BSc MBDS FRCA
for an Epidural anaesthetic device.
2008 Mr G Bates BSc BM BCh FRCS, Mr R Corbridge BSc BM BCh FRCS,
Mr D Costello MA MBBS FRCS
for the Oxford Universal Pouch Scope for the treatment of pharyngeal pouches.
2009 Mr Ashutosh Tewari MD MCh, Gerald Tan MB ChB(Ed) MRCS (ED)
M Med(Surgery) FAMS, Anil Mandhani MD, Sandhya Rao MD
for a urinary diversion device for use in radical prostatectomy
2010 Mr Harith Akram MBChB MRCS, Mr Ian Low FRCS (NS)
for a new stereotactic frame positioning aid
2011 Professor N Williams MS FRCS FMed Sci, Mr L Edwards BSc FRSA
for a circular stapling device and associated instrumentation to effect
innovative techniques for ultra low sphincter saving resection,
and stoma trephine reinforcement to prevent herniation.
2012 Mr M B Izzat FRCS(CTh)
for designing dedicated instruments to facilitate and guide the
implementation of aortic valve repair techniques and new
calibrated cusp sizers to aid aortic assessment in the
operating room.
2013 Professor M Nicholson MD DSc FRCS and Dr S Hosgood
BSc PhD
for jointly developing a system of ex-vivo normothermic
perfusion for kidney transplantation.
2014 Mr. James Ansell Bsc MBBCh MRCS, Dr. Neil Warren PhD, Professor
Paul Sibbons FIBMS PhD FRCPath, Dr. Pete Wall BSc MSc PhD and
Mr. Jared Torkington MS FRCS
for developing the Ultravision visual field clearing system for clearing
surgical smoke by a system of electrostatic precipitation.