William Halsted
William Stewart Halsted (1852 – 1922) was an American surgeon.
One of the four founding physicians of Johns Hopkins Hospital: William Henry Welch, William Osler, Howard Kelly and William Stewart Halsted
Halsted operation – wide amputation of the breast with ablation of the pectoral muscles and local and axillary lymph node cleaning in the mammary carcinoma.
Halsted syndrome – postoperative oedema of the upper limb after extensive amputation of the breast.
Biography
- Born 1852
- Died September 1922
Medical Eponyms
Key Medical Contributions
1885 – Performed the first brachial plexus block via a surgical approach
Controversies
Halstead performed a ‘secret’ operation on Rudolph Matas (1860 – 1957) Matas for a ‘mass’ in 1903. It was never divulged during the life time of either man. Only upon autopsy following Matas’ death, was it noted that he had undergone a right orchidectomy.
Major Publications
- Halsted WS. Practical comments on the use and abuse of cocaine; suggested by invariably
- successful employment in more than a thousand minor surgical operations. NY Med J 1885; 42: 294–295.
References
Biography
- Matas R. William Stewart Halsted 1852-1922: an appreciation. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin 1925; 36: 2-27.
- Fresquet JL. William Steward Halsted (1852-1922). Historia de la Medicina.
- Biography: Halsted, William Stewart (1852 – 1922). Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Eponymous terms
