Sidney Yankauer

Biography

• Born 1872
• Died August 27, 1932

Medical Eponyms

Yankauer suction catheter (1907)

Yankauer mask (1904) [Yankauer-Gwathmey Mask]

The chloroform mask herewith presented has two new features which render it of special value. The body of the mask consists of a framework of wire netting, instead of the one or two wires usually arranged for the support of the gauze covering the mask. This wire netting comes in contact with the gauze and supports its entire surface, thus preventing it from flapping back and forth with respiration, and from coming in contact with the nose and cheeks. The edge of the wire netting is continued into a metal gutter, shaped to fit the face, which turns up the edge of the gauze and prevents this from touching the skin. By keeping the gauze saturated with chloroform away from the skin a ” chloroform burn ” cannot occur, as the vapor of chloroform does not blister the skin.

Yankauer 1904

Yankauer laryngeal medicator (1907)

At the request of Dr. George Mannheimer, an internist of Mount Sinai Dispensary, I devised this little apparatus for the especial purpose of enablng tuberculous patients to make applications of thick and viscid fluids (orthoform emulsion) to the larynx at their own homes. The device has proven so efficient that I have extended its use to the self-treatment of other laryngeal conditions with entire satisfaction.

It consists of a strong glass tube, bent at right angles at one end, slightly flattened near the other end, and fitted with a small rubber bulb holding about 3ij.

Yankauer 1907

Yankauer Speculum (1911)

Yankauer Speculum for the Direct Examination and Treatment of the Nasopharynx and Eustachian Tubes.

This speculum consists of a tube of a peculiar shape which is introduced into the nasopharynx, and illuminated by means of the ordinary head-light. It acts as a palate lifter, and as the anterior wall of that part which lifts the palate is on a straight line with the posterior wall of the part which presses the mouth back, it enables us to bring into view the orifice of the eustachian tube and part of its anterior wall.

Yankauer 1911

Yankauer surgical instruments (1917)

Yankauer designed myriad instruments for surgical operations, some of which are outlined in Loeb’s Operative surgery of the nose, throat, and ear, for laryngologists, rhinologists, otologists, and surgeons. 1917

Yankauer suction and pressure anesthesia pump (1920)

Major Publications

• Yankauer S. A new chloroform mask. The New York Medical Journal and Philadelphia Medical Journal 1904; 79(23): 1114 [Yankauer mask]
• Yankauer S. A leech in the trachea, report of two cases. Laryngoscope 1904; 14(7): 567
• Yankauer S. Foreign body in the bronchus: removal with the aid of the bronchoscope: recovery. Medical Record 1905; 67: 217
• Yankauer S. A laryngeal medicator for the patient’s use. Laryngoscope 1907; 17(8): 658-659
• Yankauer S. A Speculum for the Direct Examination and Treatment of the Nasopharynx and Eustachian Tubes. Transactions of the American laryncological, rhinological and otological society. 1911: 302
• Yankauer S. A New Direct Laryngoscope. Transactions of the American laryncological, rhinological and otological society. 1911: 311
• Yankauer S. The complete spheno-ethmoid operation. Laryngoscope 1921; xxxi: 831-842
• Yankauer S. A radium needle for the esophagus. Archives of Surgery 1923; 5: 288
• Yankauer S. Bronchoscopy in the treatment of lung abscess. Surgical Clinics of North America 1925; 5: 525-530
• Yankauer S. Clinical Thermometer. 1899. United States Patent Office. Patent number 626124
• Yankauer S. Resilient Wheel. 1923. United States Patent Office. Patent number 1,459,565
• Yankauer S. Pipe Lighter. 1931 United States Patent Office. Patent number 1,834,756

References

Biography

• In memoriam. Dr. Sidney Yankauer. The Laryngoscope 1932; 42(10): 819-820
• In memoriam. Sidney Yankauer. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1932 Sep; 8(9): 591
• Smith T. Sidney Yankauer – the man behind the mask. The History of Anaesthesia Society Proceedings. 2012; 45: 73–77
• Archive Image: [Sidney Yankauer]. US National Library of Medicine

Eponymous terms

• Loeb HW. Operative surgery of the nose, throat, and ear, for laryngologists, rhinologists, otologists, and surgeons. 1917
• Yankauer Masks. Wood Library Museum
• Advertisement. The Yankauer Combination Pressure and Suction Outfit. American Year-Book of Anesthesia and Analgesia 1917-1918: ii