Professor Robin Ling

Professor Ling is one of the two originators of the Exeter Hip. Educated in British Columbia and later at Oxford University and St Mary’s Hospital, London, Professor Ling underwent his postgraduate training in London and Edinburgh before being appointed to a Consultant position in Edinburgh in 1961, and subsequently moving to Devon in 1963. His interest in Hip Arthroplasty started in the mid-sixties and culminated in the implantation of the first Exeter Hip in the autumn of 1970. With great vision he set up a system to allow the prospective gathering of all data on hip arthroplasties at the time of the very first implantation of the Exeter Hip.

His contribution to British orthopaedics has been recognised by the presentation of numerous accolades throughout his career. He has been President of the British Orthopaedic Research Society, the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Hip Society (of which he was also a founder) and the International Hip Society.  He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1992 (OBE).

He was made a Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 1999, and  an Honorary Fellow of the British Orthopaedic Association in 2000. Professor Ling discontinued active surgical practice in 1991 but continued to pursue his academic and research interests.

Professor Ling sadly passed away on the 9th Oct 2017. He will be hugely missed.

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Mr Graham A Gie

Mr Gie was brought up in Natal, South Africa, and he underwent his undergraduate medical education at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town before returning to Natal for his post-graduate training. He moved with his family to Exeter in 1985 where he was employed firstly in a training registrar position and then as a Hip Research Fellow under the supervision of Professor Robin Ling. His higher surgical training was completed in the South West of England and during the latter stages of this he was awarded the John Charnley Research Fellowship, studying at the University Hospital in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

He has continued with his clinical and research interest in the Exeter Hip over the past 25 years, an interest that developed during his time as a Hip Research Fellow. Along with Professor Ling, he invented the technique of Impaction Femoral Bone Grafting for use in revision hip surgery. This technique has revolutionised the lives of many patients.

Mr Gie was appointed as a Consultant at the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital in 1991 and his clinical practice was in adult hip surgery with a particular interest in primary and revision total hip replacement. He is very highly regarded internationally and during his career was referred patients from all over the world. He is a member of the International Hip Society and is a Past-President of the British Hip Society.

He retired from the NHS at the end of 2010 and now lectures around the world on the Exeter Hip. He is also still actively involved in our education programme.

Dr Clive Lee

Dr Lee is one of the two originators of the Exeter Hip. His collaboration with Professor Ling started in the late 1960s and culminated in the present design of femoral implant. Dr Lee undertook his undergraduate education at Nottingham University, having starting his career as a University Apprentice with Rolls Royce Ltd, Derby, in 1957. After graduation he worked as a designer of jet engine re-heat systems in the early 1960s. He returned to Nottingham to work on his PhD thesis on the subject of experimental stress analysis and was awarded his doctorate in 1966. He was appointed to the academic staff at the University of Exeter in 1965 and it was here that his co-operation with Professor Ling commenced. Since that time he continued to orchestrate laboratory research in partnership with other engineers at the University and surgeons based at the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital in Exeter until his retirement in 2010.