Georges Dieulafoy

Biography

• Born on November 18, 1839 – Toulouse, France
• 1863 – Studied under Armand Trousseau (1801-1867) in Hôtel-Dieu
• 1870 – Led an ambulance service at Holy Trinity Church of Paris
• 1879 – Chief of the Medical Department at Tenon Hospital
• 1881 – Chief of the Medical Department at St. Antoine Hospital
• 1886 – Chief of the Medical Department at Necker Hospital
• 1896 – 1910 Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Hôtel-Dieu
• 1910 – President of the French Académie de Médecine
• Died on August 16, 1911

Medical Eponyms

Dieulafoy’s lesion (1898)

Dieulafoy’s lesion, also know as cirsoid aneurysm and submucosal arterial malformation. 70% are located in the stomach and commonly located within 6cm of the gastroesophageal junction on the lesser curvature. These lesions account for 1-2% of gastrointestinal bleeding and are cause of recurrent or often massive gastrointestinal bleeding. 

Originally described by Gallard in 1884 and designated “exulceratio simplex” by the French surgeon Georges Dieulafoy 14 years later.

Dieulafoy recommended surgical excision as the therapeutic approach to these lesions and this remained until the introduction of endoscopy. The use of endoscopy caused prognosis to drop to 8% from 80%.

Dieulafoy aspirator

A suction pump to evacuate liquid from the pleura.

First described by Edouard van den Corput (1821-1908) in 1856

Under the title of “Pneumatic Aspiration, a medico-chirurgical method of diagnosis and treatment,” Dieulafoy presented fifty cases of hydarthrosis and some cases of pleurisy successfully treated by his method. It is impressive that his vacuum was manufactured until 1940.

Dieulafoy’s triad

Hypersensitivity of the skin, tenderness and muscular contraction at McBurney’s point in acute appendicitis

Major Publications

• Dieulafoy G. La mort subite dans la fièvre typhoïde. Thèse de doctorat. Masson, Paris, 1869
• Dieulafoy G. Traité de l’aspiration des liquides morbides [A treatise on the pneumatic aspiration of morbid fluids : a medico-chirurgical method of diagnosis and treatment of cysts and abscesses of the liver – strangulated hernia – retention of urine – pericarditis – pleurisy – hydarthrosis]. 1873
• Dieulafoy G. De la thoracentése, par aspiration dans la pleurésie aiguë. 1878
• Dieulafoy G. La tuberculose expérimentale chez le singe. 1883.
• Dieulafoy G. Manuel de pathologie interne. 1896
• Dieulafoy G. Exulceratio simplex. L’intervention chirurgicale dans les hématémèses foudroyantes consécutives à l’exulcération simple de l’estomac. Bull Acad Med 1898; 39: 49-84.
• Dieulafoy G. Exulceratio simplex. Clinique médicale de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, 1898: II.
• Dieulafoy G. Clinique médicale de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Paris 1898-1909 (Vol II, III, IV, V, VI)

References

Biography

• Georges Dieulafoy (1839-1911). BNF
• Peschanski N, Cadogan M. A vivid grouping (1903). LITFL

Eponymous terms

Dieulafoy’s lesion

• Gallard T. Anéurismes miliaires de l’estomac, donnant lieu à une hématémèses mortelle. Bulletin et mémoires de la Société médicale des hôpitaux de Paris, 1884; 1: 84-91.
• Lee YT, Walmsley RS, Leong RW, Sung JJ. Dieulafoy’s lesion. Gastrointest Endosc. 2003 Aug;58(2):236-43.
• Karamanou M, Fiska A, Demetriou T, Androutsos G. Georges-Paul Dieulafoy (1839-1911) and the first description of “exulceratio simplex”. Ann Gastroenterol. 2011;24(3):188-191.
• Corput BE. Note sur un nouveau trocart aspirateur [trocart universal] destiné a pratiquer en même temps l’exploration, l’évacuation et injection. Bulletin de l’Académie royale de médecine de Belgique, 1856; 15: 537-542
• Talia FM, Fatima A. Dieulafoys Lesion Causing Gastrointestinal Bleeding. National Library of Medicine, StatPearls, 2023.