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. 2017:37:211-217.

Eponymous Instruments in Orthopaedic Surgery

M Ayodele Buraimoh  1 , Jane Z Liu  1 , Stephen B Sundberg  1 , Michael P Mott  1
Affiliations

Eponymous Instruments in Orthopaedic Surgery

M Ayodele Buraimoh et al. Iowa Orthop J. 2017.

Abstract

Every day surgeons call for instruments devised by surgeon trailblazers. This article aims to give an account of commonly used eponymous instruments in orthopaedic surgery, focusing on the original intent of their designers in order to inform how we use them today. We searched PubMed, the archives of longstanding medical journals, Google, the Internet Archive, and the HathiTrust Digital Library for information regarding the inventors and the developments of 7 instruments: the Steinmann pin, Bovie electrocautery, Metzenbaum scissors, Freer elevator, Cobb periosteal elevator, Kocher clamp, and Verbrugge bone holding forceps. A combination of ingenuity, necessity, circumstance and collaboration produced the inventions of the surgical tools numbered in our review. In some cases, surgical instruments were improvements of already existing technologies. The indications and applications of the orthopaedic devices have changed little. Meanwhile, instruments originally developed for other specialties have been adapted for our use. Although some argue for a transition from eponymous to descriptive terms in medicine, there is value in recognizing those who revolutionized surgical techniques and instrumentation. Through history, we have an opportunity to be inspired and to better understand our tools.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors report no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.

Figures

Figures 1.
Figures 1.
(A) Steinmann pins are depicted. (B) A Photograph of Dr. Fritz Steinmann is shown courtesy of the Institute of the History of Medicine at the University of Berne.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) A modern Bovie electrocautery device is depicted. (B) A cartoon of original Bovie apparatus from its patent application is shown. (C) A photograph of Dr. William T. Bovie in 1908 is depicted courtesy of the Albion College Collection through Flickr using Creative Commons Licensure.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(A) Metzenbaum scissors are shown. (B) Dr. Myron Metzenbaum is depicted courtesy of Dr. Ralph Metson, nephew of Dr. Myron Metzenbaum.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
(A) A Freer elevator is portrayed. (B) A photo of Dr. Otto Tiger Freer in 1916 is shown courtesy of the Rush University Medical Center Archives.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
(A) A Cobb periosteal elevator is depicted. (B) Dr. John R. Cobb is depicted courtesy of Dr. David B. Levine.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
(A) Kocher clamp is shown. (B) Dr. Emil Theodor Kocher is depicted courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
(A) A Verbrugge bone holding forceps are depicted. (B) Dr. Jean Verbrugge is depicted courtesy of Professors Jean-Jacques Rombouts and Robercht Van Hee.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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