A Tribute to the Pioneers of Right Heart Bypass: An Historical Review.

Cavopulmonary anastomosis was first described by Carlon, Mondini, De Marchi in a canine model in 1951 and later, in the clinical practice, by Glenn in 1958. Total right heart bypass was first introduced by Fontan and Kreutzer in 1971, in each instance as treatment for tricuspid atresia. Several modifications of such a procedure followed the initial concept of the right atrium as a pumping chamber, including modifications aimed to minimize energy loss at the anastomotic level and arrhythmias. Tribute is given to our pioneers who developed such an operation aimed to treat any child with functionally univentricular hearts.

Birth of Airway Surgery and Evolution over the Past Fifty Years.

Significant developments in airway surgery occurred following the introduction of mechanical ventilators and intubation with cuffed endotracheal tubes during the poliomyelitis epidemic of the 1950s. The resulting plethora of postintubation injuries provided extensive experience with resection and reconstruction of stenotic tracheal lesions. In the early 1960s, it was thought that no more 2 cm of trachea could be removed. By the late 1960s, this was challenged owing to better knowledge of airway anatomy and blood supply, tension-releasing maneuvers, and improved anesthetic techniques. Currently, about half of the tracheal length can be safely removed and continuity restored by primary anastomosis.

From Hypothermia to Cephalosomatic Anastomoses: The Legacy of Robert White (1926-2010) at Case Western Reserve University of Cleveland.

Dr. Robert J. White (1926-2010) was an eminent neurosurgeon and bioethicist, renowned for his classic work in hypothermia and pioneering mammalian head transplant experiments. He founded the Division of Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital (currently MetroHealth Medical Center, a level 1 trauma county hospital) and became the youngest full professor at the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. With over 500 research articles to his credit, he founded the Brain Research Laboratory at what was then the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, which was also home to future leaders in neurosurgery, neurosciences, and allied specialties. He transferred a healthy monkey head onto a surgically beheaded monkey body under deep hypothermic conditions drawing both laurels and criticisms alike. Despite a largely controversial neurosurgical research career, his original contributions to deep hypothermia have found profound clinical applications in modern trauma and vascular neurosurgery. The new fusogens and myelorrhaphy methods being tried in Europe hold promise for a future of reanastomosing 2 homologous or heterologous tracts in the neuraxis.

El arte de la cirugía pancreática. Pasado, presente y future / The art of pancreatic surgery. Past, present and future. The history of pancreatic surgery

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Hallmarks in history of esophageal carcinoma.

Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers due to its aggressive behavior and poor survival. It was mentioned in the works of ancient Chinese and Arabo-islamic physicians, centuries before the recognition of high incidence in the Asian esophageal cancer belt. Till the 19th century the disease was considered incurable and the main goal of the proposed treatments was to alleviate dysphagia and pain. The introduction of esophagoscope in 1868 by Adolf Kussmaul (1822-1902) contributed to the observation of the living esophagus and to the diagnosis of esophageal pathologies, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches. In 1877, Vincenz Czerny (1842-1916) performed the first successful resection of the cervical esophagus for carcinoma, followed by Franz Torek (1861-1938) who carried out in 1913 the first successful subtotal thoracic esophagectomy and Tohru Ohsawa (1882-1984) who performed the world's first esophagectomy with an intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomosis. Nowadays, despite the advent of biomedical technology and the development of operation techniques, the surgical treatment of esophagus still remains a challenge.

Dr. Norman Chater and Chater's Point.

Dr. Norman Chater, a University of California San Francisco-trained microvascular neurosurgeon, dedicated his career to the development of surgical bypass techniques. His work contributed to advancements in microvascular anatomy and the development of cerebral revascularization techniques. He identified Chater's point, an extracranial landmark that marks the posterior extent of the Sylvian fissure, which on craniectomy reliably exposes vessels of the angular gyrus, the vasculature found to be most appropriate for bypass procedures owing to its accessibility and vascular diameter. This surgical landmark continues to be essential for the successful execution of bypass surgeries to this day.

The first identical twin renal transplant.

There is no doubt that it was the work of one man, Alexis Carrel, which laid the foundations of modern organ transplantation. Working first in his native city of Lyons, then in Chicago and finally at the Rockefeller Institute New York, he developed the techniques of successful anastomosis of blood vessels, using extremely fine silk sutures and tiny needles. As early as 1892, he successfully grafted a kidney into the neck of a dog. He was soon able to demonstrate that, although a dog's kidney transplanted into its own neck could survive, even when the opposite kidney was excised, transplant of a kidney to another animal would fail after a few days. Further experiments included transplantation of other organs, including ovary, thyroid, lower limb and heart. In 1914 he wrote to fellow Nobel Prize winning Swiss surgeon, Theodor Kocher about his experiments; "Concerning homoplastic transplantation (from one animal to another) of organs such as the kidney, I have never found positive results to continue after a few months, whereas ir autoplastic transplants the results were always positive. The biological side of the question has to be investigated very much more and we must find out by what means to prevent the reaction of the organism against a new organ" (my italics). This, in fact, was going to occupy the next half century of worldwide research!

A brief history of vascularized free flaps in the oral and maxillofacial region.

Vascularized free flaps are now the reference standard for the reconstruction of defects after cancer resection in oral and maxillofacial surgery and other specialties and have an interesting and surprisingly long history. We reviewed the history of free flap use in oral and maxillofacial surgery and show their place in the wider context of surgical progress. An overview is given of both soft tissue and bony reconstruction in the pre-free flap era and the development of vascular anastomosis and microsurgery--one of the main foundations of free flap surgery. The emergence of free flaps from 1959 through to the early 1970s is documented. The history of 19 of the more common free flaps used in oral and maxillofacial surgery is described, from the jejunal flap in 1959 through to the posterior tibial artery flap in 1985. For each, the origin and first reported use in the head and neck are discussed. Free flap surgery has continued to evolve, with developments in perforator and chimeric flaps, and new flaps continue to be described. An appreciation of the surgical history is important in understanding where we are today. Our review should give the practicing surgeon an idea of the origins of the currently used techniques.

"Can't walk nor raise arms to head": Harvey Cushing's surgical treatment of poliomyelitis.

STUDY DESIGN: This study was a retrospective chart review for patients undergoing operative treatment by Dr. Harvey Cushing at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1896 and 1912. OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the early use of peripheral nerve anastomoses for the treatment of postpoliomyelitis paralysis. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: At the turn of the 20th century, poliomyelitis was recognized as a disease of neurons; neurological surgeons sought to find a surgical cure for the paralysis occurring after the disease onset. Peripheral nerve anastomoses were an attractive option employed during this time. METHODS: Following IRB approval, and through the courtesy of the Alan Mason Chesney Archives, the surgical records of the Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1896 to 1912 were reviewed. A single case of peripheral nerve anastomosis for the treatment of postpoliomyelitis paralysis was selected for further analysis. RESULTS: Cushing performed a multiple peripheral nerve anastomoses in a 3-year-old girl. Although the patient experienced no postoperative complications, there was no improvement in her function at the time of discharge from the hospital, and no long-term follow-up was available. CONCLUSION: While unsuccessful, Cushing's use of peripheral nerve anastomoses to restore motor function in the pediatric patient described here demonstrates his commitment to pushing the boundaries of neurological surgery at the turn of the 20th century.

[Surgical reinnervation with nerve anastomosis technique for neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction]. / Kirurgisk reinnervation med nerveanastomoseteknik har potentiale til behandling af neurogen blære- og tarmdysfunktion.

Neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction are among the major problems faced by patients with spinal cord injury and myelomeningocele. New treatment modalities enforcing more natural patient control of voiding and defecation are therefore appealing. We present a historical review of crossover surgery as treatment for such deficiencies and, further, describe the principles as well as the documentation for modern surgical intervention in the form of a somato-autonomic reflex arch.

[Thirty years of laser-assisted microvascular anastomosis (LAMA): what are the clinical perspectives?]. / Trente ans de microanastomoses vasculaires assistées par laser: des perspectives cliniques ?

INTRODUCTION: Since the first studies by Jain and Gorisch (1979), laser-assisted anastomoses have been steadily developed to a stage where clinical use is within reach. The laser-assisted vascular microanastomosis (LAMA) procedure is performed more quickly than conventional anastomosis, the surgically induced vessel damage is limited, and reduced bleeding after unclamping is observed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A Medline literature search, for the January 1979 to February 2010 period, was performed to review articles focusing on the LAMA technique. RESULTS: The search yielded a total of 354 publications, of which 87 were relevant: 82 were animal series and five clinical studies. Microsurgical techniques and principal characteristics of LAMA in patients are the focus of the analysis. This study discusses the technological innovations and new orientations in laser welding. CONCLUSION: The first two clinical series using the 1.9-µm diode laser appear promising. Technical innovation will most likely lead to greater ease of use of the laser handpiece in the operating room.

[Historical review and future orientations of the conventional vascular microanastomoses]. / Revue historique et orientations futures aux microsutures vasculaires conventionnelles.

Microvascular surgery has become an important method for reconstructing surgical defects due to trauma, tumors or after burn. The most important factor for successful free flap transfer is a well-executed anastomosis. The time needed to perform the anastomosis and the failure rate are not negligible despite the high level of operator's experience. During the history, many alternatives were tried to help the microsurgeon and to reduce the complications. A Medline literature search was performed to find articles dealing with non-suture methods of microvascular anastomosis. Many historical books were also included. The non-suture techniques can be divided into four groups based on the used mechanism of sutures: double intubation including tubes and stents, intubation-eversion including simple rings, double eversion including staples and double rings, and wall adjustement with adhesives or laser. All these techniques were able to produce a faster and easier microvascular anastomosis. Nevertheless, disadvantages of the suturless techniques include toxicity, high cost, leakage or aneurysm formation. More refinement is needed before their widespread adoption. Thus, laser-assisted microvascular anastomosis using 1,9 µm diode laser appeared to be a safe and reliable help for the microsurgeon and may be further developed in the near future.