The surgical career of Lucille Teasdale-Corti began with a decision made at age twelve after hearing accounts from missionaries in Nanjing, China. Born in Montreal in 1929, she pursued medical training at the Université de Montréal, graduating cum laude in 1955, before relocating to Uganda in 1961 to provide essential pediatric surgical care.
Medical Education and Early Training
Teasdale-Corti was the fourth of seven children raised in Montreal. She entered the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine in 1950 as one of only ten women in a class of 110 students. During her internship at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, she met Piero Corti, an Italian doctor completing pediatric training. She pursued further postgraduate study in pediatric surgery at Hôpital Maisonneuve and Hôpital Hotel-Dieu, later completing a final internship year at the Hôpital de la Conception in Marseille, France.
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In 1961, Teasdale-Corti traveled to Uganda to assist Piero Corti at a 30-bed mission hospital near Gulu. This facility, known as St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, was established by Catholic Comboni Missionaries in 1959. She performed her first operation on an examination bed and subsequently managed the hospital's surgical activities. She and Corti married on 5 December 1961 in the hospital chapel. Their daughter, Dominique, was born in 1962.
Expansion and Sustained Development
The hospital served the Acholi people in a region near the Sudanese border. Over time, the facility grew to prioritize training local staff and offering accessible care. During the political instability following the 1971 coup by Idi Amin Dada and the subsequent collapse of national infrastructure, the couple remained in Uganda. They organized international support networks to maintain supplies, drugs, and equipment required to sustain surgical services.
Honors and Legacy
Teasdale-Corti’s medical contributions were recognized through various honors, including the F.N.G. Starr Award in 1987 and the title of Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1995. She was also a Member of the Order of Canada and received the Gold medal for civil merit. After her death in 1996 in Besana in Brianza, she was buried at St. Mary's Hospital Lacor. She was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2001.
Fast facts
- Born: 1929, Montreal
- Died: 1996, Besana in Brianza
- Education: Université de Montréal
- Marriage: 5 December 1961
- Burial site: St. Mary's Hospital Lacor
- F.N.G. Starr Award: 1987
- Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec: 1995
- Canadian Medical Hall of Fame induction: 2001
Questions readers ask
Where did Lucille Teasdale-Corti work?
She worked as a physician and surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital Lacor near Gulu, Uganda, from 1961 until 1996.
What were her primary medical qualifications?
She was a Canadian physician and surgeon who earned her medical degree from the Université de Montréal in 1955.
Achievements
- Member of the Order of Canada
- Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec — 1995
- Gold medal for civil merit
