Victoria Possamai, Consultant Paediatric ENT Surgeon, Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
30 August 1977 – 6 December 2024
It is with great sadness that we reflect on the loss of our wonderful colleague and friend Victoria ‘Vikki’ Possamai, Consultant Paediatric ENT Surgeon at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. A very accomplished and universally appreciated and respected surgeon, she lived life very much to the fullest in all aspects. She will be painfully missed by so many, not least her family, friends, colleagues, patients and their families.
Vikki was born in 1977 in Wales and she grew up in Essex, one of four siblings, with proud British and Italian heritage, the latter through her father’s family. In addition to excelling academically, she was also a very keen sportswoman, playing hockey at a high level. And, as eulogies from her family and longstanding friends have made clear, she was also developing the warmth, kindness, generosity of spirit and selflessness which would come to define her in later life, as well as her evident joy of living life to the fullest.
She studied Medicine at the University of Birmingham, graduating with the Gold Medal for the outstanding performance of her cohort. She went on to train in and around Birmingham. As well as forging the beginnings of her career as an ENT Surgeon, it was at this time that she met her husband Arjun, now an esteemed hepatobiliary surgeon himself. She was evidently a very warm and capable doctor and colleague, heading towards a career in paediatric ENT. She was enthusiastically supported by senior colleagues in Birmingham, before a fellowship at Great Ormond Street Hospital and then taking up a consultant position at Evelina London Children’s Hospital in 2014.
There, she quickly became an invaluable and cherished part of our team and the wider community within the hospital. She soon accepted the challenging role of Clinical Lead for Paediatric ENT, which she continued with distinction for some seven years. The Department is now one of the largest of its kind in country, dedicated to promoting safe, innovative practice, and its cohesion and warm atmosphere (as described by patients, colleagues and trainees) owes a great deal to her diligent stewardship.
In parallel with all of this, Vikki had a very busy family and social life, raising two children with Arjun – Maya and Raushan. The children are already excelling in a variety of areas, just as she had done at the same stage. Periods at work were punctuated with wonderful ski holidays and trips to Italy and India, visiting a large and very loving extended family. In addition, she was evidently always there, without a moment of hesitation, for her wider group of friends.
On a professional level, despite her undoubted abilities in so many areas, Vikki was resolutely humble, always happy to listen to the views of others, and often promoting their interests ahead of her own, for example when considering running for positions in national associations. However, she was persuaded to take up the position of Honorary Secretary of The Royal Society of Medicine Laryngology and Rhinology Section in 2021, working alongside Michael Kuo, a long-time colleague, friend and mentor. Again, she managed these commitments with great panache and distinction. Within the wider UK Paediatric ENT community (at BAPO and the BLA, for example), she was equally known and respected, always keen to catch up at conferences – as readily on a morning run as in the bar.
Vikki, with her husband Arjun.
Right in the midst of this fullest of lives, Vikki died suddenly on 6 December 2024, aged 47. Our thoughts are particularly with Arjun, Maya, Raushan, her parents, siblings and wider family. Her loss, so suddenly and in her prime as a greatly loved wife, mother, sister and daughter, has been devastating. She is also greatly missed by all of those who had the privilege and good fortune of crossing paths with her, in all corners of her life.
