A pioneering orthopedic surgeon
Dr. William E. Gallie was a brilliant and innovative general surgeon with a particular expertise in orthopaedics. He devised numerous new methods in surgery, including the transplantation of bone, the implantation of tendons, and skeletal traction in the treatment of fractures and dislocations of the spine. For many years, Dr. Gallie trained surgical residents in the traditional informal way, before establishing the first formal program of post-graduate surgical training in Canada in the 1930s. He was also instrumental in convincing Sam McLaughlin of General Motors of Canada to endow a foundation to support Canadian surgical trainees studying abroad.