Valentine Mott. American surgeon pioneer

Valentine Mott (1785-1865) was considered one of the most influential American surgical leaders of his time. Originally from Long Island, New York, he proceeded from a Quaker medical family and received a classical education from an elementary seminary. After completing an apprenticeship under his cousin, well-respected surgeon Valentine Seaman, he attended and received his medical degree from Columbia Medical College in 1806. Months later, he left for London, where he studied surgery under the superb guidance of the surgical star Sir Astley Cooper. Other noted English and Scottish surgeons actively participated in his education as well. By 1809, Valentine Mott returned to New York City. Various coveted surgical posts at Columbia, Rutgers Medical College of New Jersey, and University City of New York were occupied by Professor Mott. Valentine Mott was certainly the first American to ligate successfully a great number of large arteries. Because of Valentine Mott's extraordinary vascular surgery work, the distinguished surgeon and historian, Ira Rutkow, believes Mott should be named the father of American vascular surgery. I concur with his recommendation. In addition, Valentine Mott performed an incredible number of lithotomies with good results, and nearly 1000 amputations and other operations, such as surgery of the face, nose, and mandible. He was a continuously dedicated, highly committed, and skillful surgeon, who knew anatomy extremely well and was a considerate professional with his patients and colleagues-a great example for aspiring surgeons to follow.

FIFTY YEARS OF VASCULAR SURGERY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Over the 50 years that vascular surgery has been practised in Australia and New Zealand there have been major advances and refinements of surgical techniques, particularly with the advent of endovascular surgery, spurred on especially with the introduction of endovascular aortic aneurysm stent grafting. At the same time, there has been a revolution in medical imaging, with the introduction of ultrasound, computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance scanning. Vascular surgery in Australia and New Zealand was initially an interest of either general or cardiothoracic surgeons, but was recognized as a subspecialty of general surgery with the formation of the Section of Vascular Surgery within the Division of General Surgery of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1972. In 1981, a 2-year training programme in vascular surgery was established and in 1983 an Australian and New Zealand Chapter of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery was formed. In 1995, vascular surgery was recognized as a specialty in its own right with the formation of the Division of Vascular Surgery within the College. There has been a separate examination for Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (Vascular) since 1997. In 2001, the Chapter changed its name to The Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery and in 2002 it amalgamated with and took over the functions of the Division of Vascular Surgery, which was formally dissolved.

The transition from hunterian ligation to intracranial aneurysm clips: a historical perspective

The description of cerebral aneurysms dates back to antiquity. Little was known, however, about the pathological mechanisms of aneurysm formation and treatment options for this disease until 200 years ago. The modern era of aneurysm treatment began with the hunterian ligation of the proximal artery, followed by clip and coil occlusion. In this article, the authors describe the transition from conservative therapy to internal carotid artery (ICA) ligation and gradual occlusion of the ICA to the direct placement of clips on aneurysms. The driving forces and rationale behind each major advancement are summarized, and the authors attempt to predict what these innovations mean for the future of intracranial aneurysm management.

J. Lawrence Pool, M.D.: a pioneer in vascular neurosurgery

The authors detail the life and career of Dr. J. Lawrence Pool, as well as his significant contributions to the field of cerebrovascular neurosurgery. The discipline of cerebrovascular neurosurgery is a young and dynamic field, which underwent rapid and substantial growth during the middle of the twentieth century. As the chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Neurological Institute of New York, Dr. J. Lawrence Pool was instrumental in the development of new techniques and devices that would ultimately result in decreased mortality rates and improved results from complex cerebrovascular procedures. Passion, ingenuity, and a pioneering spirit fueled Dr. Pool, whose introduction of the operating microscope and use of temporary clip occlusion during aneurysm repair revolutionized the field of cerebrovascular neurosurgery.

Vascular Knowledge in Medieval Times was the Turning Point for the Humanistic Trend

OBJECTIVE

Knowledge of the history of our surgical specialty may broaden our viewpoint for everyday practice. We illustrate the scientific progress made in medieval times relevant to the vascular system and blood circulation, progress made despite prevailing religious and philosophical dogma.

METHODS

We located all articles concerning vascular knowledge and historical reviews in databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE and the database of abstracts of reviews (DARE). We also explored the database of the register from the French National Library, the French Medical Inter-University (BIUM), the Italian National Library and the French and Italian Libraries in the Vatican. All data were collected and analysed in chronological order.

RESULTS

Medieval vascular knowledge was inherited from Greek via Byzantine and Arabic writings, the first controversies against the recognized vascular schema emanating from an Arabian physician in the 13th century. Dissection was forbidden and clerical rules instilled a fear of blood. Major contributions to scientific progress in the vascular field in medieval times came from Ibn-al-Nafis and Harvey.

CONCLUSION

Vascular specialists today may feel proud to recall that once religious dogma declined in early medieval times, vascular anatomic and physiological discoveries led the way to scientific progress.

The Management of Trauma Venous Injury: Civilian and Wartime Experiences

The management of venous trauma continues to be debated. Historically, ligation of injured veins is the most common modality of surgical treatment. In the past half-century, additional techniques have been used, including primary repair, interposition graft, and occasionally endovascular techniques. Venous repair, whether in the acute or chronic setting, is believed to prevent or ameliorate the complications of pain, edema, and phlegmasia. Venous repair in civilian trauma and in wartime is commonplace; however, overall treatment strategies remain largely unchanged since the Vietnam War.

Dominique Anel: father of the hunterian ligation?

✓On December 12, 1785, the famous British surgeon John Hunter ligated an artery that was feeding a popliteal aneurysm. During the procedure he ligated only the proximal side of the artery and left the aneurysm sac untouched. This is frequently viewed as a landmark event in the history of surgery. There is considerable evidence, however, that another surgeon, Dominique Anel, performed a substantially similar procedure more than 75 years earlier. It is possible that the weight Hunter’s name has borne in the history of surgery has led to the procedure’s bearing his name rather than that of the lesser known Anel.

Crossectomy and great saphenous vein stripping

Crossectomy and stripping have been the standard of care for primary great saphenous varicose veins since the high failure rates of sclerotherapy became apparent in the 1970s. As the specialty of venous surgery has evolved, a number of clinical trials have established the optimal methods of surgical treatment, and the clinical benefit of routine stripping. Long-term trials, however, have uncovered a high recurrence rate after varicose vein surgery that approaches 70% after 10 years. There is much debate about whether this is the result of the dilatation of existing tributaries in the groin or the growth of new veins as a result of angiogenesis that follows surgical treatment and healing (neovascularisation). The addition of barrier technology to current crossectomy has the potential to improve the results of surgery in the future. In the meanwhile, new techniques are evolving to obliterate the great saphenous vein, including endovenous laser, radiofrequency ablation and foam sclerotherapy. Randomised clinical trials are urgently required to compare these new treatments against standard surgery, and they will need to focus on whether the short-term gains in reduced convalescence and morbidity are balanced by durable long-term results.

Civil War vascular injuries

As the result of the insistence of the Surgeon General during the United States Civil War, there was extensive documentation of injuries to major blood vessels and their resulting complications. The specific treatment of vascular injuries during the Civil War was ligation of the injured vessel or amputation. This was before there was any knowledge of the cause and prevention of infection. Overall, the results were dismal, with a mortality rate of nearly 60% for the more than 1000 soldiers treated by arterial ligation. The most important contribution of these medical reports was to define how the injuries should be diagnosed and managed. Many of the principles that developed as the result of this post-war review are as valid today as they were then. Unfortunately, it seems that many of these lessons have had to be relearned by the surgeons who have participated in each of our subsequent military conflicts.

Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Historical Review and Description of a Re-engineered Technique

Most complications related to thoracoabdominal aortic reconstruction stem from ischemia-induced injury to the viscera, kidneys, and spinal cord. Pioneers in the treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms recognized the danger of producing ischemic damage to these vital organs. In addition to adjunctive methods designed to minimize metabolic demands of the spinal cord during aortic cross-clamping, a variety of extracorporeal techniques have been developed that provide supplemental blood flow to vital end organs during the period of clamp-induced ischemia. This article reviews these extracorporeal methods and provides a historical perspective of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. In addition, a reengineered technique for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair is highlighted.

The Kenneth Fitzpatrick Russell Memorial Lecture: 'Of books and libraries: a reflection inspired by surgeon William Bland's copy of Manec's Treatize on the Ligature of Arteries'

Kenneth Russell, bibliophile, anatomist, surgeon and historian helped to acquire Leslie Cowlishaw's historical library for the College, and subsequently cared for and catalogued the collection. One book in the collection is especially interesting as it bears the name of every owner since 1656; another belonged to William Bland of Sydney, sometime surgeon, convict, educator and legislator, whose surgical ability and inventive mind stimulated this reflection on libraries and book lovers. Bland was almost certainly Australia's first vascular surgeon.

If I can see so far. Annual oration: Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, October 2004

Images

In Situ Saphenous Vein Bypass—Forty Years Later

In situ saphenous vein bypass, which was performed first by Rob in 1959, but introduced by Hall in 1962, has been widely applied as an alternative to the reversed bypass. Now, forty years later, it seems appropriate to review its current place and technique. Of the presumed original benefits of the in situ operation, it is now clear that the hemodynamic flow of converging (in situ) versus diverging vein (reversed) boundaries plus better vein/artery size match are the main advantages. It is now popular belief that the reversed saphenous vein graft to the popliteal artery has no significant hemodynamic disadvantage because the vein is of comparable diameter at the knee and in the groin. In contrast, vein bypass from the groin to the ankle strongly favors the in situ procedure because of the convergence of the walls of the vein below the knee and better vein/artery size match. The most controversial facet of the in situ operation has been the question of valvulotome is superior to lyse valves and whether to perform the operation open as originally described, or closed to avoid skin complications from a long groin to ankle incision. Preoperative vein mapping is advantageous for all saphenous vein conduit operations. For open leg in situ procedures, skin bridges and incisions made directly over the vein, directed by mapping, will minimize skin complications. Use of endoscopic in situ techniques is ideal but only with an experienced endoscopist. Valve lysis has improved but is still not foolproof.

[Microsurgery: History of instrumental vascular anastomoses, our experience with eversion-stapling using VCS forceps]

One century, after Carrel in 1906, technics of vascular surgery are the same. After two world wars, peace surgery has been improved by war surgery. Microscopy surgery gave a new way for vascular surgery which became microsurgery with specific instrumentation. We have move from the developing period of microsurgery in the 1970s, to the fully matured period of microsurgery in the 1980s and the the development of clinical free flaps. The 1990s must be the turning point from autogenous tissue transplantation to allogenic transplantation. Ethic comity keeps keys of future! About microvascular anastomoses, many instrumental technics are explored but no-one is better than the classic manual suture. For us, the best instrumental technic is the anastomose with titanium clips VCS((R)) but we only use it in good situation without difficulties.