John Wright is a distinguished surgeon who was accorded honorary fellowships of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Chest Physicians and the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He was the first Australian to be appointed to a professorial post in cardiothoracic surgery. He worked in the University of New South Wales teaching hospitals for twenty-five years, during which time he was appointed Foundation Head of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. John Wright MB, BS (Hons), FRACS, FACS, MSTS is the author of two surgical textbooks and over 200 peer-reviewed surgical articles.