Glasgow and The Boy David - the story of the Peruvian toddler that gripped the city

[Judi Lynn]

David Lopez was adopted by plastic surgeon Professor Ian T Jackson and his wife after being brought from the Amazon jungle to the city for surgery in the 1980s to restore his facial features.

By Craig Williams

11:18, 18 SEP 2021 UPDATED 14:03, 18 SEP 2021

On Sunday, August 2 last year, plastic surgeons across the globe mourned the loss of one of their most renowned and esteemed colleagues after the death of Glasgow-born plastic surgeon Professor Ian T Jackson at the age of 85.

Jackson graduated from the University of Glasgow School of Medicine in 1959 and went on to spend a decade working as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon in the city - based at Canniesburn Hospital.

He gained world-wide fame in the mid 1980s due to his extensive surgery work with a young Peruvian boy, who was abandoned by his family in the Amazon jungle due to a disfigurement that left him without a nose or upper jaw, along with a massive hole in the centre of his face.

Christened 'The Boy David' by the UK media, the toddler brought to Glasgow by Dr Jackson to perform life-changing surgery (via over 90 operations) to restore his facial features, with Dr Jackson and wife Marjorie also deciding to legally adopt David, who then grew up with them here.

More:
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/remembering-the-boy-david-story-18742681