Milton Keynes Hospital pays tribute to pioneering surgeon who was ‘pivotal’ to its development
Milton Keynes University Hospital has paid tribute to a pioneering surgeon who was ‘pivotal’ to its development and the services it provides.
Professor Christopher Balogun-Lynch, 81, joined the hospital as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in 1984, and remained there until he retired from the National Health Service in 2010.
During his time at the hospital Professor Lynch developed the B-Lynch Brace Suture, a surgical technique credited with saving the lives of women worldwide.
The technique provided a way of controlling postpartum haemorrhaging while preserving fertility and used readily available and inexpensive materials.
Paying tribute, the hospital’s chief medical officer Dr Ian Reckless said: "We are very sad to hear about the death of Professor Balogun-Lynch who was much-loved by many colleagues past and present.
“He was an inspiring force for good who was pivotal to the development of our hospital, and the obstetrics and gynaecology service we provide here.
“Patients and colleagues alike remember him as a compassionate and hard-working person as well as an innovator who was driven by a determination to provide safe, quality care.
“His legacy, which has doubtless saved the lives of many women around the world, continues to benefit patients and service users at the hospital today."
Professor Lynch was born in Sierra Leone in 1944, and after coming to the UK on a boat during the windrush, graduated in law from Oxford, and later in medicine from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School in London.
He became chief assistant to the Queen’s gynaecologist from 1981 to 1983, and a year later was appointed as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Milton Keynes Hospital.
Consultant Nandini Gupta, the hospital’s divisional director of obstetrics and gynaecology added: “I had the immense privilege of working with Professor Lynch for four years and he was an excellent colleague who was always available to advise and help with difficult cases.
“I valued his kindness and his support very much when I was a new consultant. He is rightly celebrated internationally for his innovative and pioneering approach, including his introduction of the B-Lynch suture which is still being used today."
His son Dr Josh-Balogun Lynch, who works for a GP practice in Buckinghamshire, told the Citizen: “My father was always happiest teaching, mentoring younger doctors and spending time with his family, particularly his grandchildren in his later years.
“Milton Keynes Hospital was there for him in his later years’ and we are particularly thankful for the care that he received there.”
In 2018 Professor Lynch was interviewed as part of a documentary series called Hidden Stories, a project produced by the Junior Filmmakers Club in Milton Keynes, which sought to protect the legacy and contributions of black people to the city.
During the documentary, which can be viewed above, Professor Lynch talked about how he and newly-appointed colleagues worked out how to run the hospital.
He said: “Milton Keynes was a brand new hospital, with no sitting tenant. We worked out a plan, and I said I would do the cancer work.
“We split the responsibility but I led on the surgical work, because that was my skill. We all put our heads together to set up this hospital.
“The population of Milton Keynes was 150,000, and there were no buildings, it was all fields. The one building I remember was The Point.
“Milton Keynes Hospital has got a very good reputation for maternity care, and my experience of Milton Keynes was very good.
“My father used to say it is the man that makes the place, not the place that makes the man.
“I knew very little about Milton Keynes, but a new city gave a challenge, so that was why I came to Milton Keynes.
“It was a challenge for me to come here, but I have never been happier than when I was in Milton Keynes.”
Funeral directors H W Mason & Sons have announced that Professor Lynch’s funeral will take place on Saturday July 11 at 11am at Christ the Cornerstone Church in the city, and will be followed by a private burial.
Donations in Professor Lynch’s memory can be sent to the Practical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training Maternity Foundation (PROMPT).
The aim of the PROMPT charity is to reduce preventable harm to mothers and babies in maternity care by making training as widely available and effective as possible, including in the Professor’s home country of Sierra Leone.