A remarkable case in the history of obstetrical surgery: a laparotomy performed by the Dutch surgeon Abraham Cyprianus in 1694.
In 1700 the Dutch surgeon/medical doctor Abraham Cyprianus (1655/1660-1718) published his Epistola historiam exhibens foetus humani post XXI. menses ex uteri tuba, matre salva ac superstite excisi, a 94-page book in which several remarkable case histories are described and illustrated. The most spectacular case in the book is the accurate and detailed description of the delivery of a dead full-term child (ectopic tubar pregnancy) by a laparotomy he performed in a living woman in December 1694. The woman survived the operation and gave birth to three more children in following years. This remarkable, well-considered, brave and life-saving operation, performed in a time without antisepsis and anesthesia in a domestic situation is seldom mentioned by medical historians describing the history of obstetrics. This particular case is reviewed in this article.
Kompanje
Erwin J O
EJ
Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Neurological Surgery, Dr Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e.j.o.kompanje@erasmusmc.nl
D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000266:history; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000266:history; D009426:Netherlands; D013513:Obstetric Surgical Procedures / Q000266:history*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011274:Pregnancy, Tubal / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery