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McKenzie, Kenneth George
Kenneth George McKenzie, neurosurgeon (b at Toronto 13 June 1892; d there 11 Feb 1964). After graduating with an MB from the University of Toronto in 1914, he saw medical service overseas during WWI. Following a period of general practice, he studied for a year with Dr Harvey Cushing in Boston before joining the staff at the Toronto General Hospital. The first neurosurgical unit in Canada, which he founded there in 1923 and directed until 1952, became widely recognized for its excellent care and training.
President of the Harvey Cushing Society 1936-37 and the Society of Neurological Surgeons 1948-49, he made many contributions to his field, including a scheme for training general surgeons to treat head injuries; new methods of treating torticollis, chronic subdural hematoma and acoustic neuroma; the use of skull tongs for traction of patients with spinal fractures; a technique for dividing the vestibular nerve in Ménière's disease; and a long-term analysis of the results of frontal lobotomy. His greatest influence was as a master surgeon and an exemplary teacher.
