Theodor Billroth, founding father of modern abdominal surgery

Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (1829-1894), a German-born Austrian surgeon, is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. Billroth worked from 1853-1860 at the Charité. He was apprenticed to Carl von Langenbuch and practiced surgery at Vienna, as chief of the Second Surgical Clinic at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus (Vienna General Hospital) and professor of surgery at the University of Vienna. 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The term abdominal surgery broadly covers surgical procedures that involve opening the abdomen. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). ... University of Vienna, main building, seen from Beethovens apartment The University of Vienna (German: Universität Wien) in Austria was founded in 1365 by Rudolph IV and hence named Alma mater Rudolphina. ...

Billroth was directly responsible for a number of landmarks in surgery, including the first esophagectomy (1871), the first laryngectomy (1873), and most famously, the first successful gastrectomy (1881) for gastric cancer, after many an ill-fated attempt. Legend has it that Billroth was nearly stoned to death in the streets of Vienna when his first gastrectomy patient died after the procedure. Laryngectomy the surgical removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. ... Diagram of the stomach, showing the different regions. ... In medicine, stomach cancer (also called gastric cancer) can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs. ...

Billroth was also instrumental in establishing the first modern "school of thought" in surgery, and among his disciples were counted luminaries such as Alexander von Winiwarter and Johann von Mikulicz-Radecki. William Halsted's pioner surgical residency program was greatly influenced by Billroth's own methods of surgical education. A typical modern surgery operation For other meanings of the word, see Surgery (disambiguation) Surgery (from the Greek cheirourgia - lit. ... Residency is a stage of postgraduate medical training in North America which leads to eligibility for board certification in a primary care or referral specialty. ...

In addition to his impressive contributions to surgery, Theodor Billroth was also a passionate musician, a violin virtuoso and a close friend of Johannes Brahms. Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of Romantic music, who predominantly lived in Vienna, Austria. ...