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
eponym
the person behind the name
Associate Professor Curtin Medical School, Curtin University. Emergency physician MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | Eponyms | Books | Twitter |