Dr. Ian Munro was Canada’s first pediatric craniofacial surgeon and a pioneer in establishing the sub-specialty. He was born in England and was on the right side of the “brain drain” that impacted the UK during the 60’s and 70’s. He completed his medical training at Cambridge in 1963 and trained in Plastic Surgery at the University of Toronto, being one of the members of W.K. Lindsay’s “chicken club” studying flexor tendon healing.
His appointment in 1970 by Dr. W. K. Lindsay to the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children heralded the beginning of the Craniofacial Program and brought the radical new ideas of Paul Tessier from Paris to Toronto. Over the following 14 years, Dr. Munro was most productive in establishing SickKids as one of the leading international centers for the treatment of children with craniofacial disorders by initiating and refining new surgical techniques, developing a post-graduate fellowship program and stimulating interest and enthusiasm in those around him. During these years, both the Craniofacial and Cleft Lip and Palate Programs were coordinated through the Facial Treatment and Research Centre. During his time in Toronto, Dr. Munro performed over 2000 craniofacial procedures operating at the Hospital for Sick Children and also Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
Ian Munro was a founding member of the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery (ISCFS) in June 1983 in Montreal, as the Craniofacial Chapter of the International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and published a definitive work “Atlas of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery” with co-authors and craniofacial icons Linton A. Whitaker, Kenneth E. Salyer and Ian T. Jackson. In a well-publicized departure coinciding with a Ministry of Health mandate to end “extra billing” in 1986, he departed for Dallas, Texas and established the Humana Craniofacial Institute at Medical City Hospital. Dr. Munro retired from clinical practice in 1996.
