Norman Lester Rowe

Norman Rowe (15 December 1915 – 4 August 1991), was a British oral and maxillofacial surgeon who was a defining influence in the development of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education Norman Rowe was born in 1915 in Stroud, Gloucestershire, to Arthur William Rowe and Lucy Adams. He was educated at Malvern College but left school prematurely in 1932 but managed to gain admission to Guy's Hospital Dental School from where he qualified as a dental surgeon in 1937.

At Roehampton Rowe was a pioneer in the treatment of facial deformity using multi-stage operations planned on models with the assistance of Brian Conroy his chief maxillofacial technician. He was also innovative in the development of the treatment of facial injuries, particularly around the eye using models constructed by Conroy and developing new surgical instruments.

In addition to his clinical and training work Rowe took on several administrative roles within oral and maxillofacial surgery. He was one of the founding fathers of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (then called the British Association of Oral Surgeons). He chaired the steering committee for its formation and was the first Secretary from 1962 – 1966 and its president in 1969. He sat on the council of the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (then called the International Association of Oral Surgeons) and became the Secretary General. He sat on the Council and became Vice President of the European Association for Cranio Maxillofacial Surgery (then called the European Association for Maxillo-Facial Surgery) 1974–1976.

Awards and honours Rowe was awarded honorary fellowships by the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and was made Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1976.

Selected publications Books Fractures of the Facial Skeleton 1969 NL Rowe HC Killey 1955 2nd Edition 1969 Maxillofacial Injuries by N.L. Rowe and J.Ll. Williams 1985. A second edition was published after his death in 1994.

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