Conrad Ramstedt
Conrad Ramstedt (1867–1963) was a German surgeon.
Eponymously affiliated with the Ramstedt Pylorotomy, of which he carried out 70 during his career. First performed in 1911 and published in 1912 and 1913.
Served in the German army medical corps in World War I
Biography
- Born on February 1, 1867 in Hamersleben in Central Prussia
- 1894 – Graduated after studying Medicine at Heidelberg, Berlin and Halle
- 1895–1901 Surgical assistant at the University Surgical Clinic in Halle
- 1901-1909 Medical officer in the (Westphalian) Cuirassiers ‘von Driesen’
- 1911 – Ramstedt performed his first pylorotomy on a 7 week-old, firstborn son of a Westphalian nobleman on August 23, 1911
- WWI – Oberstabsarzt (Major) in the German Army
- 1919 – Chief of Surgery in the Rafaelklinik in Munster
- Died on February 7, 1963 in Munster, Germany
Medical Eponyms
Ramstedt Operation (pylorotomy) (1912)
Longitudinal myotomy of the pyloric muscle without attempt to close the defect, in contrast to previous methods involving closure of the hypertrophied muscle
Ramstedt is credited with pioneering the modern surgical management of Pyloric Stenosis
While working in Munster, Ramstedt suggested that simple pyloric myotomy may surfice for management of Pyloric Stenosis (1911) rather than attempting closure of the pyloric muscle, as was carried out previously. He carried out and described this procedure on August 23, 1911
At the laparotomy on 23 August 1911, I was astonished at the pyloric tumour as thick as my thumb. After I had split the tumour down to the mucosa for a distance of about 2 cm, I had the impression that the stenosis had been relieved. I still tried to accomplish the plastic procedure by transverse suture of the muscle edges.
Ramstedt recollection
However the tension on the sutures was so strong that the first one cut through immediately. Then the thought shot through my head: ‘A plastic alteration of the cut edges is completely unnecessary; the stenosis seems to be already relieved by a simple splitting of the pyloric muscle and coincidentally the spasm as well, which is the characteristic basis of the disease’. I did not complete the plastic operation on the muscle which had been planned, but left the cut gaping, covering it with a tab of omentum for safety’s sake and ended the operation. The little one vomited a few times for the fi rst few days which I attributed to the sutures placed at the beginning, but he recovered promptly and completely to the great joy of his parents.
His description of this method was preceded by Sir Harold Stiles in Edinburgh, who performed and documented the operation in February 1910
Major Publications
- Rammstedt C. Zur Operation der angeborenen Pylorusstenose. Medizinische Klinik 1912; 8(2):1702–1705
- Rammstedt C. Zur Operation der angeborenen Pylorusstenose. Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift. 1912; 59(44): 2422
- Rammstedt C. Zur Operation der angeborenen Pylorusstenose. Monatsschrift für Kinderheilkunde 1913; 11(6): 409-411
- Rammstedt C. Die Operation der angeborenen Pylorusstenose. Zentralblatt für Chirurgie 1913; 40(1): 3-4
Controversies
Ramstedt’s name was spelt with two ‘m’s (Rammstedt) in publications pre ~1920, due to an error apparently introduced by his grandfather into church records. He appears to have reverted to the original spelling after discovering this following WWI.
References
Biography
- Bibliography. Rammstedt, Conrad. WorldCat Identities
Eponymous terms
- Pollock WF, Norris WJ. Dr. Conrad Ramstedt and pyloromyotomy. Surgery. 1957 Nov;42(5):966-70.
- Taylor S. Pyloric stenosis before and after Ramstedt. Arch Dis Child. 1959 Feb;34(173):20-3.
- Georgoula C, Gardiner M. Pyloric stenosis a 100 years after Ramstedt. Arch Dis Child. 2012 Aug;97(8):741-5
- Shaw A. Ramstedt and the centennial of pyloromyotomy. J Pediatr Surg. 2012 Jul;47(7):1433-5
Eponym
the person behind the name
