Tag: Fistula
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Louis XIV’s anorectal fistula and its influence on surgical innovation
Neal ChanBoston, Massachusetts, United States King Louis XIV—also known as the Sun King—ruled France from 1643 to 1715. He not only expanded France’s territorial and cultural influence but solidified his status as a sovereign ruler only a half-step below a god. Through absolute control of the nobility, gentry, and landowners, he made France the dominant…
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J. Marion Sims and the reputation-character distinction
Jack E. RiggsMatthew S. SmithMorgantown, West Virginia, United States “Reputation is what men and women think of us;character is what God and angels know of us.”— Thomas Paine (likely inaccurate attribution) Few medical legacies have been more controversial than that of J. Marion Sims, the Father of American Gynecology.1-3 Sims rose from humble and obscure…
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My health care crisis
Yessenia GutiérrezMiami, Florida, United States “Mom, will it hurt?” These were the first words that came out of my mouth the day after my kidneys stopped working. The day after I found out that I had kidney failure and had to get a fistula in my arm for dialysis. I was very afraid because I…