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A reprint of the article "A High Pain Threshold" which appeared on a blog by Thomas Morris on December 12, 2016 is presented. The article explores surgeon Dickinson Crompton's experience of performing a double leg amputation and an arm amputation in the early 19th century before anaesthetic was invented. The patient whose legs were amputated was a man who lay drunk outside during a frosty night while the other patient who lost his arm held a candle while the surgeon was cutting his arm.

We remember the military medical practice of Croatian surgeon, Vatroslav Florschütz (1879-1967), known for his invention of the traction frame for repositioning bone fracture fragments of the upper and lower extremities. The method, known as the Balkan frame / beam or Balkan splint, was introduced and published in 1911 and used in war medicine thereafter. The memory of this invention adds to our orthopaedic heritage and sheds light on its creator working under the most demanding war circumstances. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, reminiscence of Florschütz's war experience, his orthopaedic innovation and other innovations contributes to our understanding of human efforts to save lives and restore bodily function of the wounded during wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of Dr. Heller's description of the surgical treatment of patients with achalasia with a cardiomyotomy. This 100-year-old operation, which is today performed laparoscopically with the addition of a partial fundoplication, is considered the treatment of choice for patients with achalasia. Purpose: Our goals are to revisit the accounts from the beginning of the twentieth century in which surgeons tried to identify the pathophysiology of achalasia and proposed several operative techniques and to follow the evolution of the surgical treatment until modern days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambroise Paré is considered to be one of the fathers of surgery and a pioneer in surgical techniques. He was one of the first surgeons to encourage primary amputation for the treatment for gunshot wounds, he designed "bec du corbin", the predecessor to modern hemostats, he designed limb protheses and some ocular protheses and he also aimed for the progress of obstetrics. Besides from being an extraordinary scientist, Ambroise Paré had a compassionate character and he spent his whole life helping others. The motto that characterized his scientic personality and his life was "I treated him, but God healed him". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the research project that led to the development of facial feminization surgery, a set of bone and soft tissue reconstructive surgical procedures intended to feminize the faces of male-to-female trans- women. Conducted by a pioneering surgeon in the mid-1980s, this research consisted of three steps: (1) assessments of sexual differences of the skull taken from early 20th-century physical anthropology, (2) the application of statistical analyses taken from late 20th-century orthodontic research, and (3) the vetting of this new morphological and metric knowledge in a dry skull collection. When the ‘feminine type’ of early 20th-century physical anthropology was made to articulate with the ‘female mean’ of 1970s’ statistical analysis, these two very different epistemological artifacts worked together to produce something new: a singular model of a distinctively female skull. In this article, I show how the development of facial feminization surgery worked across epistemic styles, transforming historically racialized and gendered descriptions of sex difference into contemporary surgical prescriptions for sex change. Fundamental to this transformation was an explicit invocation of the scientific origins of facial sexual dimorphism, a claim that frames surgical sex change of the face as not only possible, but objectively certain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses the cultural rejection of medical procedures, specifically surgeries, by the Andean indigenous groups in South America. The author comments on the role of the shaman in indigenous medical practices during the 16th through the 17th centuries. A comparative analysis is also provided of colonial and modern traditional medicine of the Andean peoples.

The article presents a speech by medical lecturer T. B. Curling, delivered on February 9, 1848, to a meeting of the Hunterian Society in London, England. It discusses topics such as the use of ether and chloroform in surgical procedures, symptoms of pain, the excision of the female breast, and the physiological aspects of fear.

The article presents abstracts on surgery history topics which include the first liver transplant performed by military surgeon C. Stuart Welch in 1955, the first kidney transplant performed by Sir Michael Woodruff in 1960, and the discovery of nitrous oxide's analgesic properties by Humphrey Davy.

Jaroslav Bakeš';s contribution to the development of the surgery and oncology field in the Czech Republic was exceptional. His achievements in the first half of the 20th century exceeded the Czech territory and were also important on the European and world level. His methods used in surgery of gallbladder and biliary tract, as well as dilatation probe, which he had constructed according to his own designs, are still used world-wide up to present day. Bakeš organized surgery hospital up on the Žlutý kopec (Yellow Hill) in Brno, where he performed many surgeries considered important not only in Europe, but also world-wide. He used as the first high volume peritoneal lavage, started with rectal cancer irradiation and successfully operated the spinal war injuries by means of decompression. Deservingly, the name of Jaroslav Bakeš is eternally connected with four hospitals: in Třebíč (1902-1909), hospital U Sv. Anny in Brno (1910-1922), surgery hospital on the Žlutý kopec (1922-1930) and with Masaryk';s oncologic hospital, which could hardly come to existence without the contribution of Bakeš and his mother. Bakeš';s name never appeared in the name of the oncologic hospital, but one of the pavilions is names after him, the pavilion that is in the building of the original Bakeš';s surgery hospital. Yet, Bakeš potential and financial contribution to Masaryk';s oncology hospital was immense. Both hospitals on Žlutý kopec greatly occupied the last eight years of Bakeš';s life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epiduroscopic laser neural decompression (ELND) has been performed as a treatment tool for chronic refractory low back pain and/or radicular pain. There are some studies about the usefulness of epiduroscopy for post lumbar surgery syndrome, however, few studies about the effectiveness of epiduroscopy for patients without back surgery. We compared the satisfaction of patients who underwent ELND for chronic low back pain and/or radicular pain after back surgery and for the same symptoms without surgery. Methods: We compared the degree of satisfaction of patients after ELND between who had underwent the lumbar spine surgery and who had not retrospectively by chart reviewing. We divided 39 patients who had received ELND into two groups, one is the group of patients who got the lumbar surgery (group 1), and the other is the group of patients who did not (group 2). Their medical records including age, sex, previous treatment, duration of illness, degree of symptom relief were investigated. We compared each items between two groups. Results: The number of patients in group 1 was 17, and group 2 was 22. In group 1, 16 patients (94.1%) showed more than 'Acceptable', and 19 patients (86.4%) showed more than 'Acceptable' in group 2. There is no significant differences statistically in percentage of patients who showed more than 'Acceptable' in the satisfaction after ELND between two groups. Conclusions: ELND provided satisfaction (more than 85%) for patients with chronic low back pain and/or leg pain regardless of previous back surgery history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the role of surgery in pre-modern medical practice in general, and in the lands under Muslim dominance in particular. There is an acknowledged gap between theoretical knowledge and medical practice, but evidence of the latter is difficult to find. Many fundamental questions therefore remain unanswered. For example, was there a division of labour between surgeons and physicians? We are also mostly ignorant about who practiced surgery, the legal context surrounding this practice, and its financial aspects. This article offers an analytical edition of two documents from the Syrian town Hamah dating from 1212/1798, which can help answer some of these questions. They concern a respected and learned physician who also personally performed the removal of bladder stones and was paid well for his services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All the medical knowledge of all time in one book, the universal and perfect manual for the Renaissance surgeon, and the man who wrote it. This paper depicts the life and works of Giovanni Andrea della Croce, a 16th Century physician and surgeon, who, endowed with true spirit of Renaissance humanism, wanted to teach and share all his medical knowledge through his opus magnum, titled “Universal Surgery Complete with All the Relevant Parts for the Optimum Surgeon”. An extraordinary book which truly represents a defining moment and a founding stone for traumatology, written by a lesser known historical personality, but nonetheless the Renaissance Master of Traumatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life events and the, professional and scientific activities of Ludwik Koehler (1799-1871), an eminent Varsovian surgeon, organizer of medical services, propagator of galvanocautery have been outlined. Reference has been made to his active participation in the November Insurrection. His attempts in the treatment of deafness, surgical treatment of nasal polyps, sarcoma of larynx, epulis, plastic surgery of lips and oral cavity, lithiasis of sublingual salivary gland are analyzed in some detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines the biography of Jewish-German physician Arthur Israel. The author discusses Israel's upbringing and medical training, his work as an assistant to surgeon August Bier, and his experience of Nazi persecution, exile, and return migration to Germany in the 1960s. He particularly highlights Israel's changing attitudes to his time working with Bier at Bier's Chirurgische Universitätsklinik (University Surgical Clinic) in Berlin, Germany, from 1910 to 1933, as expressed in a lecture delivered in Bier's memory in 1961.

The total removal of the larynx (total laryngectomy), performed in 1872 by the well-known Viennese surgeon Christian A. Theodor Billroth (1829-1894), was an epoch-making event in the history of surgery and laryngology. This paper presents the first surgeons who performed this operation. The first Pole who performed a total laryngectomy (1877) was Julian Kosiński (1833-1914), head of the Surgical Clinic of Imperial University Warsaw. It was the 14th operation of this kind in the world. Several laryngectomies were carried out by Franciszek Ksawery Jawdyński (1851-1896), called the father of Polish head and neck surgery, who was the first Pole to excise a malignant neck cancer together with the lymph nodes. The next total laryngectomies were performed by the following Polish surgeons: Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (1850-1905), Władysław H.S. Krajewski (1855-1907), Alfred Obaliński (1843-1898). According to Jan Sędziak, by 1897 Poland with 16 laryngectomies (per 188 carried out) had occupied the fourth position in the world. The failures of the first laryngectomies were due to such factors as the ignorance of shock pathophysiology, the inability to ensure the patency of the airways during and after the operation, which would result in lung and mediastinum infections, massive haemorrhages and so on. But the primary cause was the lack of constructive collaboration between the laryngologists and the surgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the study of female impotence during the Middle Ages. The author comments on the medical and legal aspects of impotence and describes the physical medical examination process at the time. She also considers the importance that was placed on marital sexual relations, citing marriage laws from the period, and the negative impact that female impotence had on marriage. The relationship between medicine and religion during the Middle Ages is explored and medieval surgical procedures attempting to correct impotence are also examined.

Background: The Ancient Mesopotamian civilization, the earliest known, emerged in the fourth millennium BCE. 1 While the advent of medicine is established, there is little understanding of surgery's origins. We sought to describe the characteristics and medical acumen of the surgeons of the first civilization., Methods: Source documents and commentary on Mesopotamian medicine were systematically analyzed for evidence of surgery and physician descriptions., Results: Early tablets reveal evidence of the incisional drainage of a scalp abscess and empyema, advanced wound care, fracture alignment, and possible caesarians without evidence of wound suturing, emergency procedures, trephination, or circumcision. 2 While the asû and āšipu understood disease processes, strong evidence of an inextricable connection between spiritual and diagnostic/curative roles exists., Conclusions: Mesopotamian physicians were diagnosticians and healers, approaching surgery as part of their holistic practice rather than a separate entity. Surgery was utilized as an endpoint to a careful process aided by objective evaluation and spiritual incantation., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The contributions of Jewish American surgeons in the nineteenth and early twentieth century at a time in which prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities was commonplace in the United States are detailed. The contributions of Jewish American surgeons and the positions they attained subsequent to a change in attitude toward religious minorities in the United States are presented as a comparison.

Guy de Chauliac (c1300-1368) trained in Toulouse and the University of Montpellier from where he achieved the highest possible degree of Master of medicine. He undertook fellowships in Bologna (anatomical dissection) and Paris (surgery) and was qualified as a physician not a Barber Surgeon. He took Holy Orders and was appointed as physician to three Avignon-based Popes. He survived an epidemic of the Black Death (1348-1350), suffering an axillary bubo. His book C hirugia M agna was written in medieval Latin in 1363, then circulated in manuscript form before its first printing in 1478. There were 70 editions as it became the most influential surgical text for over 200 years, particularly in France, spanning the period from the late 14th century until Paré (1510-1590). He divided surgery into swellings, wounds, ulcers, fractures and dislocations, and special diseases. Well researched and referenced, based on evidence and experience, he succeeded in incorporating antiquarian and contemporary thinking from French, Arabian, Italian ( Bologna), Egyptian and Greek scholars about anatomy, surgical disease and treatment. He was a strong advocate for evaluating outcomes, knowing when not to operate, professionalism and the non-technical competencies. His framework of professionalism was based on four domains: being learned, expert, ingenious and adaptable. The surgical aspirants and leaders of the following two centuries recognized the academic, professional and practical value of his teaching through their reference to and use of Chirugia Magna. The Cowlishaw collection in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' library contains four French copies, under the title L a G rande C hirugie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous rupture of the esophagus is a rare devastating condition, which was first described by Herman Boerhaave in 1724. Only a handful of cases were recorded during the 18th and 19th centuries. Diagnosis was usually obtained on autopsy. Only in 1914 Irving Walker achieved the first antemortem diagnosis of spontaneous rupture of the esophagus. The dawn of thoracic surgery during the first decades of the 20th century opened up the way for operative cure. More than 200 years after Boerhaave's initial report, Barrett as well as Clagett and Olsen independently accomplished the first successful surgical treatment by primary repair of the esophageal lesion in 1947. Since those pioneer days, various suggestions for proper treatment have been made ranging from conservative, nonoperative means to extended procedures such as esophagectomy. Invention of minimally invasive surgery and endoscopic measures has further broadened the spectrum of available therapeutic options. The aim of this history article is to outline the development of diagnosis and management of spontaneous rupture of the esophagus from the age of Herman Boerhaave to the present times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses instances of chronic pain documented throughout history from both a clinical as well as an academic perspective. The author comments on the medical advances to assuage chronic pain, especially during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the development of surgery and modern medical practices. He also compares the conditions of chronic and acute pain and how each are treated. Injuries sustained in war that led to chronic pain, particularly the American Civil War, are also explored.

This paper investigates ways in which early modern English recipe collections constructed domestic medicine as broader and more powerful than is often appreciated. It shows that their compilers frequently selected recipes that promised to allow them to address a wide range of surgical ailments, to heal serious surgical conditions medicinally, and to avoid invasive interventions. Claims of remedies' virtues and stories of their successes imagined domestic medicine not only as a ‘first port of call’, but also as a potent counterpart to the work of practitioners; a last resort when practitioners had failed; and as an alternative to the knife. Using the writings of the surgeon John Woodall, it argues that surgeons were sensitive to the attitudes and preferences that motivated this collection. In seeking to discipline surgery, Woodall invoked the stereotypical gentleness of women's and domestic medicine in an effort to inculcate greater discernment in the use of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: The intracranial bridging veins are pathways crucial for venous drainage of the brain. They are not only involved in pathological conditions but also serve as important landmarks within neurological surgery. Methods: The medical literature on bridging veins was reviewed in regard to their historical aspects, embryology, histology, anatomy, and surgery. Conclusion: Knowledge on the intracranial bridging veins and their dynamics has evolved over time and is of great significance to the neurosurgeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To retrospective review the clinical outcomes of the modified operative technique using a polyester suture material (Ethibond* Excel) for atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion. Methods: The retrospective reviews were conducted from 2002 to 2012. The patient's medical record reviews included demographic data, cause of atlantoaxial instability, orthopedic and surgical history, clinical presentation, radiographic finding including plain radiography, complications, operative detail, and outcome of treatment. Fusion of C1-C2 was defined as either graft consolidation or absence of C1-C2 movement on lateral flexion-extension radiograph. Results: Twenty-three patients demonstrated clinical and radiographic evidence of atlantoaxial instability (13 men and 10 women, with a mean age of 42 years). Majority of atlantoaxial instability was caused by trauma. Most common clinical symptom was neck pain with or without cervical myelopathy. Bilateral screws were placed in 18 of the 23 patients. Five patients underwent placement of unilateral screws. The 13 patients were inserted by screws with diameter 4.0 mm. The means screw length was 40.33 mm. The means of operative time and estimated blood loss were 3.6 h and 234 ml, respectively. The mean of follow-up duration was 18 months. All 41 screws were positioned satisfactorily in C1 lateral mass. All 23 patients achieved fusion (100 % fusion rate). After a period of follow-up, 9 of the 10 neurological deficit patients had completely recovered. Conclusions: We concluded that the atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion using polyester cable can be used for C1-2 fusion with a high fusion rate and less complications in various cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the controversial discussions about surgical gloves in the German-language countries in the 1890s. Analyzing the controversy as a contradiction between two important strategies of modern surgery, manual control and aseptic control, it looks at the various ways surgeons dealt with the conflict. Most important, they tried to resolve the problem by designing gloves that reconciled the two conflicting control strategies. This perspective helps to better understand the lengthy process of negotiation and the detailed discussions in the decades before surgical gloves became a standard element of modern operating equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mirror of the life-story of Wilhelm Ebstein, the discovery of "Ebstein's Disease" is presented. The readers are guided through the individual stages of the development of surgical treatment of the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Historian's Address, presented at the North Pacific Surgical Association 2012 meeting, held in Spokane, Washington, on November 9, 2012, briefly reviews the life and surgical contributions of the inventor William T. Bovie and his collaboration with Dr Harvey Cushing, which led to the widespread acceptance of surgical electrocautery for dissection and hemostasis. Published by Elsevier Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgery has evolved along with anatomical illustrations through the ages. Joseph Gensoul (1797–1858), an important figure of the great Lyonnaise medical tradition of the 19th century, was occupied with many different surgical diseases, mostly diseases of the face. Apart from his many contributions stand various techniques on ophthalmological, otorhinolaryngological and oral and maxillofacial surgery. In this context, two rare illustrations depicting an innovative facial surgical operation performed by the great surgeon Joseph Gensoul are thoroughly analyzed. The two illustrations represent the ‘‘before’’ and ‘‘after’’ phases of Gensoul’s most eminent operation, most probably practiced for a maxillary sinus carcinoma. This surgical operation is probably the earliest recorded of its kind in the history of surgery, even though the development of maxillary surgery is connected with the practice of Irwin Moure, who also practiced a type of lateral rhinotomy about a century later than Gensoul. Surgical illustrations are closely related to the history of surgery in every corner of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Vincenz (Wincenty) Fukala, was born in 1847 in Zolkiew at Galicia in Poland, studied medicine and ophthalmology in Vienna in 1871. He was a pioneer in systematically extracting the clear crystalline lens in young patients with high myopia. He demonstrated the benefit to this group of increased visual acuity which enabled them to work and ophthalmologists gradually began to carry out surgery in high myopes worldwide. He persisted in operating despite the vigorous opposition of several authorities but, through sheer determination he convinced skeptics of the efficacy of his surgical method of lens dissection. He performed the first lens discission in 1887 and in 1894, he had successfully treated 44 patients. The late complication of retinal detachment, which was not understood until years later, eventually led surgeons to abandon the procedure until the recent improvements in both lenticular and retinal surgery techniques that led to better prognosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Specific wounds inflicted on soldiers and officers of the Russian Army by French firearms and cold weapon and wound treatment by Russian surgeons during 1812 Napoleon''s invasion (better known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812) are discussed. An inference is made that the then surgical treatment was not only administered at a high level but was also versatile and efficient and thus could make a certain contribution to the victory of the Russian arms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Professor Charles Sédillot (1804–1883) is one of the pioneers of modern medicine, surgery, anaesthesiology, histopathology and infectiology. Unfortunately, he remains unknown outside of the circles of French military medicine historians. He was the first surgeon in the world to offer techniques such as coxofemoral dislocation and internal urethrotomy, thus becoming a pioneer in endoscopic surgery. By introducing general anaesthesia in France, he revolutionised patient care. In addition, he laid the foundation for the modern, algorithmic treatment of tumours by adopting the principles of clinical histopathology. Long before the description put forth by Semmelweiss (1818–1865), he foresaw and understood the existence and action of microorganisms, which he termed microbes, in the development of postoperative infections. For his work, he was honoured by his peers in France but remained unknown beyond the borders of his homeland. Here, we present a succinct report of the considerable accomplishments of the life and work of this outstanding physician and surgeon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While neither the jejunoileal bypass nor vertical banded gastroplasty are still performed, many patients still possess this anatomy. They periodically have imaging procedures that need to be performed and interpreted appropriately. It is also important to know what has failed in the past to proceed more intelligently in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on archival documents and publications, this paper presents the versatile surgical activities of Franciszek Jawdyński. The different head and neck surgical interventions in the treatment of rhinoscleroma, juvenile angiofibroma, severe inflammatory complications in the neck due to foreign body, partial mandibular resection in actinomycosis, laryngoplasty in laryngeal stenosis, and resections in the treatment of laryngeal and pharyngeal tumours have been discussed. This review illustrates the opportunities of surgery in XIX century Warsaw, and at the same time proves that the major surgical achievement of Franciszek Jawdyński (37 year-old at that time), which places him among the pioneers of World's head and neck surgery - the first documented successful radicalcervical lymph node dissection - was well fitted within his short, but very rich and active professional career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthrodesis of the distal radioulnar joint combined with the creation of a pseudarthrosis of the distal ulna is frequently referred to as the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure. This eponym is based on the 1936 report by Sauvé and Kapandji, which is believed to be the first report of this innovative technique. There has been some controversy regarding the origin of this procedure, with similar techniques described by Berry in 1930 and Steindler in 1932. This article examines the evolution of the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure and sheds light on the lives of James Allan Berry, Arthur Steindler, Louis de Gonzague Sauvé, and Mehmed Kapandji. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a literary criticism of the medical treatise titled "De recta curandorum vulnerum ratione," which deals with surgery treatment methods, written by 16th century Spanish physician Francisco Arceo with an introduction by Spanish humanist Benito Arias Montano. The author analyzes the use of the medical Latin language within the treatise as well as the influence of Montano on the composition and the overall writing style of the work.

The history of surgery in dermatology (“dermatologic surgery”) is rich with significant developments and advances by multiple individuals. Only a few of these pioneers can be highlighted in this report because of space limitations. My apologies to colleagues and friends who have not been included or mentioned in this article. The Timeline: Major milestones in the history of dermatologic surgery in this article tells some of the story. The biographic pieces on 15 outstanding physicians add additional detail and perspective. Many major developments have occurred since 2000, but they are beyond the scope of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents abstracts of surgical history programs which include the treatment of appendicitis in Australia, the establishment of Vietnam Vascular Registry in the U.S. in 1966, and the use of autologous fat grafting in reconstructive surgery in 1893.

Plastic surgeons have been performing operations to improve the aesthetic aspect of the breast for centuries. Throughout ancient times, great controversy produced many theories of how breast cancer occurred and the best treatment. Because of beliefs that closure of mastectomy sites could conceal tumor recurrence, breast reconstruction did not gain wide acceptance until the mid-1900s. Today, plastic surgeons have a variety of techniques to reconstruct the breast. The first autologous muscle flap for breast reconstruction was the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap, described in 1896 by Iginio Tansini. The introduction of Carl Hartrampf's transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap and Robert J. Allen's deep inferior epigastric perforator flap have also provided excellent reconstructive options. With regard to augmentation, Vincenz Czerny attempted to enhance a woman's breast in 1895 with implantation of a lumbar lipoma. Soon after, surgeons used paraffin injections and polyvinylic alcohol sponge implantation, which yielded disastrous results. In 1961, Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow promoted the first silicone implant, paving the way for today's silicone and saline prototypes. Although reduction mammaplasty techniques had originated centuries earlier than mastopexy methods, the advancements of both have largely paralleled one another. In 1949, the Wise pattern was introduced to preoperatively plan safer and predictable outcomes in breast reductions. Efforts to minimize scars were achieved with Claude Lassus' introduction and Madeleine Lejour's subsequent modification of the vertical scar mammaplasty. In hopes of fostering an understanding of current post-mastectomy procedures and instilling passion for innovating future techniques, we provide a near-complete, surgically focused historical account of the primary contributors to breast reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]