Ian Kelly One of the leading orthopaedic surgeons in Scotland

In the same year he married Helen, who he had met through their shared interest in Scottish country dancing and was then nursing at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. His new mother-in-law gave Ian a chanter, a gift that stimulated him to take up piping, becoming an accomplished performer on that instrument.

In the next eight years they had four children and as many moves, as Ian pursued his surgical career. Following his house jobs he undertook his general surgical training in Liverpool, obtaining the Edinburgh FRCS in 1977, but then returned to Glasgow for his specialist training in orthopaedics.

From early in his training he had shown a strong interest in research and in 1978 he joined the academic department in

the Western Infirmary as a research fellow to study gait analysis in patients requiring hip replacement for arthritic disease. The project, shared with the bioengineering unit of the Strathclyde University, awakened his interest in biomechanics. The links he established there allowed him to continue his later research interests into the mechanics of the shoulder joint. He was awarded an MD from Edinburgh for his thesis on the hip and in 1980 was appointed as a lecturer at Glasgow University. He showed a natural aptitude for teaching and was a very popular lecturer with both medical students

and surgical trainees throughout his career.

After completing his own orthopaedic training in 1983,

he was promoted to senior lecturer, a consultant post that allowed him to develop his

clinical and research interests in the shoulder joint.

The stimulus for this new direction was his increasing involvement with patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis, a crippling disease of joints, particularly of the hands and arms. When he obtained funding for a six-month sabbatical leave in 1986 he chose to visit Lund in Sweden, a centre specialising

in the disease, and with Ian's typical determination, learned Swedish to help communicate with the patients. The family travelled there together taking their ageing Volvo estate car by sea, probably hoping to exchange it in its country of origin. Unfortunately, the exhaust fell off their old car on arrival and the cost of a new car proved to be beyond their budget. Despite this setback, the trip was a professional success and added to Ian's growing number of international colleagues.

On his return to the UK, Ian received what was to be the first of many awards when he was appointed as one of the four British representatives on the prestigious ABC Travelling

Fellowship. This took him

on a six-week tour of major orthopaedic centres in the US and Canada, accompanied by his bagpipes to entertain his hosts and fellow travellers.

Despite his increasingly- heavy workload, he always found time for his young family and to develop their outdoor interests. He had been a useful runner in his youth and employed his fast footwork at the West of Scotland Rugby Club, where he coached and refereed for the junior mini-rugby teams, as well as acting as its medical officer. He also introduced his children to his other interests of fishing, hill-walking and sailing on Loch Lomond.

Ian undoubtedly had all the qualities to fill a professorial chair in orthopaedics, but the right opportunity never presented itself and instead led to his next major career change when he moved from the Western to Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1989 as an NHS consultant. This provided him with closer clinical links with the major rheumatology unit in the city, while maintaining his interest in teaching and research. He quickly settled in his new environment, and by 1994 had been appointed Clinical Director of the NHS unit.

Now followed the most productive 10 years of his professional life as his international standing in the field of shoulder surgery became firmly established. He edited several textbooks and wrote numerous papers on the subject, receiving many invitations to lecture overseas. He was visiting professor of the Western Orthopaedic Association in the USA, as well as travelling to Singapore and back to Scandinavia. Closer to home, his abilities were recognised when he was made president of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society in 1997, and in 1999 he became the European editor of the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

In addition, he was heavily involved in examining duties and the administration of postgraduate surgical training in both the Glasgow and Edinburgh Royal Colleges. Despite this enormous workload, he

still found the time to provide dedicated surgical care to his many patients and to help fill any gaps in the clinical service. A typical example was his

willingness to provide vital extra cover for the bone tumour

service at the Western Infirmary when they were unable to fill

a consultant vacancy for nearly 18 months.

The abiding impression that is left by this unassuming, but compassionate and caring surgeon was summed up by the minister at his thanksgiving service. ''He will be remembered as the tall man with the warm smile, the distinctive voice and bow-tie, easy to love and easy to respect. A surgeon worth listening to, a teacher worth learning from, and especially a husband, brother, and dad who meant

so much.''

Ian is survived by his wife Helen, his daughter Mairi

and his sons Stuart, Kenneth and Colin.

Ian George Kelly; born June 25, 1948, died August 10, 2004.