In Memoriam: Dr. David Charles Johnson (1938 to 2022)

Dr. David Charles Johnson, former chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia, passed away on February 16, 2022 of unknown causes. David, who was eighty-three at the time of his death, trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. In addition, he underwent training with Drs. Donald Ross in London and Ralph Alley in Albany, New York. Upon his return home, besides assisting Dr. Tim Cartmill at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children with pediatric surgeries, David initiated the adult cardiac surgery program at Westmead in 1981. Along with cardiologists David Ross and John Uther, they developed innovative approaches in electrophysiology, especially the surgical management of supra ventricular arrhythmias. In time, their techniques evolved to successfully treat most arrhythmias including the WPW syndrome. The Westmead surgical series became the largest in the world at the time.

David had a son with his second wife, Dr. Monica Robotin, and three children with his first wife, Lindy. He is fondly remembered as a gifted surgeon, good father, and generous man.

Rest in peace, Dr. Johnson.