Born: December 15, 1924, Stratford, Ontario
Died:  May 10, 2010, Toronto, Ontario
Education: M.D. - University of Toronto, 1947
Category: Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Robert Bruce Salter was born in Stratford, Ontario in 1924 and graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1947. Following two years spent at the Grenfell Medical Mission in Newfoundland and Labrador, Dr. Salter returned to Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children where he came under the influence of pediatric cardiovascular surgeon Dr. William Mustard.

Over the next forty years, as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children and later as Surgeon-in-Chief, Dr. Salter was a leader and innovator in orthopedics, publishing widely on many aspects of bone disease and repair. In 1960 he developed an operation for hip dislocation in children which is used worldwide and is known as the "Salter Operation".

He is the author of a major textbook in orthopedic surgery Disorders of the Musculo-Skeletal System first published in 1970. In addition to the introduction of numerous innovative orthopedic treatments, he recognized the therapeutic effectiveness of continuous passive motion to the repair of cartilage injuries, a finding which has been translated into clinical application throughout the world. Dr. Salter is recognized as a world renowned surgeon, teacher and scientist.