On the 180th anniversary of Emil Theodor Kocher, a Swiss thyroid surgeon
https://doi.org/10.14341/ket12579
Abstract
August 25, 2021 marks the 180th anniversary of the birth of the renowned physician Emil Theodor Kocher. He was a man whose talent has manifested itself in various fields of medicine. Nowadays it is impossible to imagine a doctor who does not know the name of Kocher, because he is the author of many surgical methods and techniques that are still valid, despite advances in modern medicine. Furthermore, some of the instruments designed by Kocher are still used in surgery. In addition to the biography of Kocher, this article considers information about his work in the field of thyroidology, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1909. Kocher has performed more than 5,000 thyroidectomies during his career. Thanks to the technique he developed, the mortality rate of that surgery decreased at least fortyfold. In those days there were not researches on functions of the thyroid gland, but Kocher noticed that total thyroidectomy leads to serious consequences. Therefore he refused to do such surgeries without invariable indications.
About the Authors
A. A. Tulsky
I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Andrey A. Tulsky
8-2, Trubetskaya street, Moscow, 119992
eLibrary SPIN: 8704-6078
E. M. Demina
Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry named after A.I. Evdokimov
Elena M. Demina
Moscow
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1. Figure 1. Emil Theodor Kocher (from [1]) | |
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2. Figure 2. Maria before surgery (a, right) and nine years after it (b, left) with her younger sister (from [22]) | |
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For citations:
Tulsky A.A., Demina E.M. On the 180th anniversary of Emil Theodor Kocher, a Swiss thyroid surgeon. Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2021;17(3):27-31. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.14341/ket12579
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