Sir Henry Sessions Souttar (1875 -1964) was an eminent surgeon. One of his books, “A Surgeon in Belgium”, dealt with his experiences in the First World War. It was first published in 1915 by Edward Arnold and is still available in a recent reprint (ISBN: 1428054154). Souttar became famous for his “Hole in the Heart” surgery, and later became President of The British Medical Association.
On the Barts & London Hospital website it is written:
“Sir Henry Souttar was another of The London’s most brilliant surgeons. He was the first surgeon in the world to open a chamber of the heart to stretch the organ’s mitral valve, which later became a basis for modern heart surgery. Sir Souttar also met Madame Marie Curie in Paris to discuss the use of radium, and then persuaded the Medical Research Council to give The London the first precious gram of radium which he used to treat breast cancer.”