Heinrich von Pfalzpaint, Pioneer of Arm Flap Nasal Reconstruction in 1460, More Than a Century Before Tagliacozzi.

ABSTRACT

Heinrich von Pfalzpaint (circa 1415-1465) was a Bavarian military surgeon of the Teutonic Order who treated more than 4000 casualties during the siege of Marienberg Fortress (1454-1457). In 1460, he reported "How to create a new nose if it has been chopped off and the dogs have eaten it" in his treatise on wound care Bündt-Ertznei. He used opium-soaked sponges for anesthesia, described the surgical extraction of bullets and cleft lip repair. Pfalzpaint would have been the first author to describe nasal reconstruction in Europe if his treatise had not been lost. Only 5 copies of his manuscript existed. One was rediscovered and printed in 1868. Pfalzpaint's technique for nasal reconstruction was performed in 2 stages using an undelayed skin flap from the upper arm, which was sutured to the nasal defect and the arm was bandaged to the head. After 8 to 10 days, he divided the pedicle; inset the flap; and fashioned the nasal dorsum, alae, and columella. Tagliacozzi described arm flap nasal reconstruction more than a century later in 1597. He used delayed skin flaps, with at least 6 operative stages over 4 months. Pfalzpaint was ahead of his time regarding his knowledge of wounds, insistence on surgical cleanliness, and his technically easier arm flap rhinoplasty, compared with Tagliacozzi. Pfalzpaint, who is rarely referenced in the literature, should be remembered as a great pioneer of reconstructive surgery in Europe.