Dr. Alastair Younger was born in Scotland and grew up close to St. Andrew’s in Scotland. This, unfortunately, has not resulted in a genetic ability to play golf. Instead, Dr. Younger grew up with an avid interest in skiing because this sport was inaccessible to a large part in the area that he grew up in, in Scotland. After attending a school with a large interest in outdoor sports, Dr. Younger attended medical school in Aberdeen, graduating in 1985.

After working for three years in the National Health Service, Dr. Younger moved to Vancouver to study Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University. After finishing a Master’s Degree, studying Limb Lengthening in Children, he trained in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of British Columbia, finishing both the Residency Program and further studies on Limb Lengthening in 1995.

He received a further degree from the University of Aberdeen for his work in Limb Lengthening. After doing a short fellowship and locum at Vancouver General Hospital in Joint Replacement, Dr. Younger moved to Boston in Massachusetts to study at Harvard in the area of Arthritis Surgery. He then trained in Foot and Ankle at the University of Washington in Seattle, finishing his training in 1997 and returning to be on staff at the University of British Columbia and begin his practice at St. Paul’s Hospital.

At that time, Dr. Younger was the sole surgeon practicing Foot and Ankle at the university. He was instrumental in developing British Columbia’s Foot and Ankle Clinic and lobbied hard for this clinic to be created at Providence Health Care.

As a result, he is presently the Director of British Columbia’s Foot and Ankle Clinic and has been able to hire other orthopaedic surgeons in the group, as well as operative podiatrists to try and address the need for foot and ankle care in British Columbia.

Dr. Younger is the past president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and a founding member. He has been active on many committees of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. He is a member of the American Foot and Ankle Society, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, as well as the Canadian organizations mentioned above.

Dr. Younger has chaired a local meeting for a foot and ankle symposium for the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society for the last six years, every other year. He has also given talks nationally and internationally for foot and ankle conditions. He has lectured for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Arthroscopy Association of North America and has coordinated courses for them. He has been a Master Instructor for the Arthroscopy Association of North America at their Learning Centre in Chicago. He has been a visiting professor in Calgary, Winnipeg, Northwestern University and the University of Montreal.

Dr. Younger has been recognized by the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, by being awarded the North American Traveling Fellowship in 1997 and the American/British/Canadian Traveling Fellowship in 2007.

Dr. Younger presently enjoys camping, cycling, and skiing. He also still tries to match his cultural heritage of being able to play golf, but still to a very poor level.