The large number of friends and former patients must have learnt with deep sorrow the death of Dr François Darné, FRCS, at the age of 90, which occurred in Paris on 19th September last.

Dr François Darné, the son of a well-known pharmacist of Port-Louis, won the English Scholarship Science side in December 1933. It was quite na-tural that the young laureate should have chosen to study medicine and for that purpose he entered University College Medical School of London. After gra-duation, University College Hospital accepted him as a House Officer, then as Registrar under Consultant Barrington, a well-known surgeon in urology and Guynne Williams in abdominal surgery and fractures. At one time, he became Demonstrator in anatomy which helped him later to become a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and very successful in his career.

Owing to poor pay at his time, he found it necessary to return to Mauritius to serve his native country, instead of trying to become a Consultant in the United Kingdom (UK).

Unfortunately, the Health Service here could not afford to employ high graded doctors and so he joined the ge-neral medical practice. At that time, Moka Hospital was open to all outside doctors who wanted to send their patients for surgical operations and Dr Darné sent all his poor patients for operation by himself. This offered a golden opportunity for the Superintendent of that hospital to increase his surgical skills and advice to modernize the hospital.

Before that, blood transfusion was rarely carried out and in a very primitive way. Dr Darné introduced the modern method where blood is given to the patient by the method of letting the blood go into the patient drip by drip. Moreover, he wanted to see his patients under transfusion during the operation. That was an incentive for all surgeons to follow example and the very frequent call on the Pathology laboratory to examine the blood of donors gave it the impetus to create a blood bank.

Having been a demonstrator in anatomy, Dr Darné could undertake very difficult major operations, which were not done before him. As he was most liberal and unselfish, he invited colleagues to help at operations and to learn new techniques. By such action, he helped greatly to establish modern surgery. He was not mean and would charge his fees according to the financial means of his patients and was prepared to operate poor patients in clinics or hospitals without charging any fee.

He had a most pleasant personality and possessed a great deal of ?bedside manners?. He could explain in a very simple language to a doubtful patient who needed a very dangerous operation and win his consent.

During the last world war, the medi-cal profession was deprived of the possibility of going to Europe for refresher courses and fortunately Dr Darné who was in UK all the time brought us all the new discoveries made and became the pioneer of modern surgery in Mauritius.

Dr Darné was not a miser, believing in only amassing a fortune. He envied nobody but was envied by more than one. He knew how to enjoy life. He built himself a residence resembling a Château de la Loire, bought the islet of Blue Bay where he could relax during the week end after a hard labour of the week, which Château was sold after his expatriation to France and converted into the modern Hotel Mandarin. He built his own private clinic where he could have all modern amenities to operate. His surgical centre has been bought by a private firm which has greatly enlarged it into a Five Star one and fortunately, to render homage to Dr Darné has kept the name of Clinique Darné.

Surgery can be said to have been started by late Dr George Leclézio who turned with his own financial means a dispensary into a first class hospital with up to date facilities for surgery and so well equipped that the Government turned it into the Eye Hospital at a moment notice without the slightest difficulty. But in return, the Government has not shown any sign of gratitude to that generous member of the medical profession who left all his valuable equipment free to the country.

Dr Darné will be remembered as the pioneer of modern surgery thanks to the new owners of Clinique Darné. After his retirement in Paris, he was appointed our ambassador in France for some time.

An old colleague