Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 2148

FREDERICK TREVES (1853-1923) Intestinal obstruction. Henry C. Lea's Son 1884 x, 515 pp., 60 illus. 16.7 cm.

A native of Dorchester, Treves studied medicine at the London Hospital Medical School. He became house surgeon at the London Hospital after his graduation in 1875 and then became surgeon in 1884. He also lectured on anatomy and surgery at the Hospital, served as Hunterian professor of anatomy and Wilson professor of pathology at the Royal College of Surgeons, and acted as surgeon extraordinary to Queen Victoria and sergeant-surgeon to Edward VII and George V. Treves, noted for his teaching ability and surgical skill, did research on scrofula, tuberculosis, intestinal obstructions, and he developed an operative treatment for appendicitis. He was a very active medical writer, is especially known for his Surgical applied anatomy (London, 1883), and is also remembered as author of the Elephant man and other reminiscences (London, 1923). Treves was awarded the Jacksonian Prize by the Royal College of Surgeons for this treatise in 1884. He made a number of revisions, added new material and the work was then published both at London and Philadelphia in September 1884. He gives a masterly account of one of the most challenging of all surgical conditions--intestinal obstruction. The often perplexing clinical symptoms, the pathology of the various forms of obstruction, and their treatment are thoroughly covered. Treves had an accurate knowledge of the effects of band constriction, volvulus, intussusception, impacted fecal masses, and tumors. In keeping with the practices of his day, Treves recommended many conservative measures such as massage, local application of heat, opium, enemas, electricity, and purgation. Surgical procedures included the dangerous procedure of needle enterocentesis; laparotomy was done as a last resort with correction of the mechanical fault in the small bowel or resection of the bowel if necessary. Obstructions in the colon were resected with colostomy after either the method of Ammusat (see No. 1546), lumbar flank extraperitoneal colostomy, or that suggested by Littré, transperitoneal inguinal colostomy. Both morbidity and mortality were high in Treves' day and intestinal obstruction is still one of the principal surgical emergencies.

See Related Record(s): 1546

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 3482 (London ed., 1884)

Gift of John Martin, M.D.