British Association of Paediatric Surgeons


The British Association of Paediatric Surgeons is a registered charity that aims to advance the study and practice of paediatric surgery.

The organisation

The organisation was founded in 1953. The idea for the group came up when a group of four British surgeons - Denis Browne, Robert Zachary, David Waterston and Peter Rickham - attended a meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics the year before. At the time, there were only a few dozen known paediatric surgeons across the world, so they were all invited to join BAPS.

Founding members

BAPS is one of several national paediatric surgical organisations affiliated with the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. The organisation awards the Denis Browne Gold Medal to recognize outstanding achievement in the field. The award is named for Sir Denis Browne, the first president of the association. The first award, given in 1968, went to surgeon Robert Edward Gross.