Douglas Arthur Canning, the former chief of urology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a professor of surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM), passed away on May 30 following injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. He was 65.

The son of an architect and a nurse, Dr. Canning grew up in Groton, CT and attended Robert E. Fitch High School before leaving for New Hampshire to attend Dartmouth College, where he earned his BA in chemistry in 1979. He then began a medical degree at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. After graduating in 1982, he took an Armed Forces Scholarship for his post-graduate urology training at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He held a pediatric urology fellowship at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, then served in the U.S. Navy at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego for four years.

In 1992, Dr. Canning came to CHOP, where he joined the urology staff. Two years later, PSOM brought him on board as an assistant professor of urology in the division of surgery. In 1997, he became the division chief of urology at CHOP, and three years later, he was promoted to associate professor in PSOM. Under Dr. Canning’s leadership, CHOP developed one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric urology programs in the world. The division grew to encompass 12 surgeon-scientists, 21 advanced practice health professionals, and six endowed chairs. The CHOP Urology academic program trained more than 30 fellows and more than 100 residents during his tenure. Dr. Canning eventually became the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Endowed Chair in Pediatric Urology. He also served as the vice chair for clinical affairs in CHOP’s department of surgery. 

“Doug was deeply committed to his patients and their families, many of whom had his personal cell phone number on speed dial,” said N. Scott Adzick, CHOP surgeon-in-chief and a colleague of Dr. Canning. “He worked tirelessly to ensure that each patient he encountered received the best possible care. And he brought out the best in everyone.”

Dr. Canning was a worldwide expert in bladder and cloacal exstrophy and hypospadias, rare urological conditions that require sophisticated care. In 2010, Dr. Canning and colleagues at CHOP, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin launched the Multi-Institutional Bladder Exstrophy Consortium (MIBEC), a group dedicated to improving care and functional and cosmetic outcomes of children with all forms of bladder exstrophy, a complex birth defect in which the bladder develops outside the fetus. Dr. Canning authored or co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, four textbooks, and more than 1000 editorials in urology. He was an internationally recognized expert in all areas of pediatric reconstructive urology, with a particular interest in the care of children with complex urological conditions. Dr. Canning lectured on five continents on diverse topics across the subspecialty. 

Dr. Canning was heavily awarded and recognized for his research. He was consistently named one of Philadelphia Magazine’s Top Doctors in Pediatric Urology, as well as receiving similar accolades from many other publications. In 2016, he was awarded the Society for Pediatric Radiology’s Thomas L. Slovis Award for the Best Basic Science Paper, and he received several teaching awards over the years from his residents at PSOM. He served as president of the Society for Pediatric Urology and the Society of Academic Urologists and was an elected member of many other professional societies. 

Outside of his professional obligations, Dr. Canning was devoted to his family and to nature, enjoying skiing, sailing, bicycling, fishing, and hunting with loved ones. He was particularly fond of Brittany dogs, of whom he owned seven during his lifetime. 

Dr. Canning is survived by his wife, Annabelle; his children, John (Alexia Katrine Pereira), Caroline and Anne; his brothers William and Peter; and many other relatives, including many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the Canning family asks for donations to an endowed fund at CHOP: www.chop.edu/dougcanning.