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John Nevil Insall (1930–2000) was a pioneering English orthopaedic surgeon who contributed extensively to the advancement of orthopedic surgery and total knee replacement surgery. Insall designed four models of widely used systems, including the ground breaking Total Condylar Knee in 1974. Insall is known as the father of modern knee surgery along with his school compatriot and mate M.A.R. Freeman (earlier Freeman-Swanson Knee).

Insall was born in Bournemouth, England to Margaret Insall (nee Allen) and James Insall. He attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, ^[1] graduating in 1953. He worked as a physician and orthopedic surgeon in England and Canada before joining the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City in 1961. He founded the Insall Scott Kelly Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine (ISK) after a nearly 30-year career at HSS and the Knee Society.

In addition to his pre-eminent knee textbook Surgery of the Knee (Churchill-Livingstone, 1984, 2000), Insall wrote approximately 150 peer-reviewed articles, 41 book chapters and 5 books. He has also trained over 200 orthopaedic residents and 100 national and internationally recognized fellows throughout his career.

Insall died of lung cancer on 30 December 2000, at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. Insall is survived by his wife Mary, children John and Amanda, and his grand children John and Emi Insall.

His publications include the following:

• Current concepts in primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (Lippincott-Raven, 1996)
• Surgery of the knee, Volume 1 (Churchill Livingstone, first edition 1984, second edition 2000)

A founding member of the Knee Society, the John Insall award was established to honor Insall's achievements and contributions to orthopaedics. This award recognizes outstanding papers concerning clinical results and techniques. The John N. Insall Travelling Fellowship is awarded to four candidates internationally. This award allows those individuals to travel to prominent knee surgery centers.

The John N. Insall Foundation continues to advance orthopedic surgery. Insall will be remembered as one of the most important contributors to modern orthopaedics.

References

• Wolfgang Saxon (18 January 2001). "John Insall, 70; Surgeon Made Knee Replacements". The New York Times.
• R. D. S. (1 April 2001). "Obituary: John N. Insall, MD, 1930-2000". The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 83 (4): 635. doi: 10.2106/00004623-200104000-00038. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2012.