Lorna Verdun Sisely

Lorna Verdun Sisely (14 March 1916 – 27 January 2004) was a surgeon from Victoria, Australia. She was the founder and the consultant surgeon of the Queen Victoria Medical Centre Breast Clinic, the first of its kind in Victoria. She was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1947. She was the first woman to do this by passing the RACS Fellowship Examination. She was awarded an OBE in 1980 in recognition of her service to medicine.

Early life Sisely was born in Wangaratta on 14 March 1916, to Ivy Sisely née Laidler, and Harrie Sisely. She had one sister, Alma May Collins née Sisely. Sisely was born in the year of the Battle of Verdun, which is the origin of her middle name.

Sisely attended first Wangaratta High School, then the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne as a boarder from the age of 14, before attending Janet Clarke Hall at the University of Melbourne. There were other women who were fellows of RACS, Lilian Violet Cooper was the first admitted in 1928, however they were already trained and experience surgeons, not required to sit the entrance examination. As well as beginning her Master of Surgery training in 1947, she also left St Vincent's Hospital to take an appointment as an honorary surgeon and senior staff member at the QVMH, a position she held for 34 years. When she started in the role, the hospital's surgical duties were shared between a gynaecologist, a doctor with an MS, and two self-trained surgeons. That same year, she also took a role as an honorary surgeon at the Children's Hospital, and two weeks later, On 20 April 1949, she left Australia on the Strathaird. Having identified the need for a urologist at the QVMH she used the funds to travel to England and then United States for 8 months each to undertake work in both general surgery and urology at various clinics. She found the experience to be very beneficial having been able to observe leading surgeons, as well as new techniques and technology.

As the QVMC grew larger, a male ward was opened, and the Monash University obstetrics, gynaecology, and paediatrics departments moved in. With the support of the staff, Sisely petitioned the board to make more appointments in both the general units, and the specialist units. This resulted in the unprecedented move of men being appointed to senior positions at the hospital. In 1980, Sisely was recognised for her service to medicine during the Queen's Birthday honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

In 2001, she was awarded a Centenary Medal for her services to medicine.