Series VI: Medical Sciences – SUPPLEMENT ... - Krongres

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra�ov • Vol. 2 (51) - 2009
Series 6: Medical Sciences
Supplement – Proceeding of The IV th Balkan Congress of History of Medicine
ORD. PROF. DR. CEMIL TOPUZLU (1866-1958)
AND HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO TURKISH
SURGERY
H. ERTIN, O. USMANBAS, I. BASAGAOGLU 1
Abstract: Cemil Pasha was the most important figure in the history of
Turkish surgery. He was a pioneer in a modernizing country thorough
observing new approaches, models, techniques in the advanced countries and
applying them in his own country. Establishing novel surgery techniques in
Haydarpa�a Military Hospital, Zeynep Kamil Hospital, Demirkapı and
Haydarpa�a Medical Hospitals Cemil Pasha strived to present the Turkish
surgeons how hospitals and clinics should have been organized in a modern
way; the efforts that resulted in high confidence of Turkish public opinion to
surgeons. With his contributions to anesthesia and asepsis-antisepsis field
Dr. Topuzlu is a path-breaking medical scientist, a fervent professor and
administer in Turkey, who executed Istanbul mayoralty as well
Key words: Turkish Surgery, Cemil Topuzlu.
Introduction.
The history of surgery in our country is
in parallel with the West. Nevertheless, it
is generally accepted that Islamic world
had advanced in surgery comparing it with
the West in the middle Ages. For instance,
Ebul Kasım Zehravi’s (X-XI centuries)
work, Cerrahiyet-ül Haniye, was
noteworthy at that time.
Treatment and surgery of the eyes in
the Ottoman period, was conducted by
professional experts, “Kehhals”, and
surgeons were never involved in
operations.
Till mid 19th century the profession
was the arena of barbers, bonesetters,
circumcisers and the dressers, in way
transferring the skills from father to son.
The emergence of surgery as a school
based profession was in 1827 through the
establishment of the Cerrahhane-i Amire,
which was a military organization
1 Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.
administered by a French man Sade de
Calliére. After establishment of this
institution, opening in 1839 the Military
Medical School began to offer special
surgery classes. By the way, distinction
made between doctors and surgeons in
Military Medical School ended in 1892.
In 1890’s, the new generation doctors,
who owned modern surgery apprehensions
and techniques through their observations
and experiences at the abroad, started to
take over the profession in the hospitals of
Istanbul. That means those old generation
medicals out of modern comprehension on
medicine and their collaborators, the old
surgeons without antisepty knowledge
were discharged. Emergent surgeons with
their new label, the operators, discarded
old devices of wooden-handle tools and
medical dressing kits composed of mohair,
balm, sponge and mush. Putting exported
modern devices and sterile materials into