Esser Inlay (Epithelial Inlay).

322 pp [irregular pagination]; about 1500 figs. Folio. Later 1/4-red leather and plain gray cloth (I will send a photo of the binding on request). Marginal yellowing of text leaves. The edges of the pages are prone to chipping if they are not turned carefully. This was printed during WWII so the paper was not of good quality. Ink stamp of the library of the American College of Surgeons on the front flyleaf (I will send a photo of the ink stamp on request). Very Good. First Edition. "While he was in Vienna in 1916, Esser described a method of using a skin graft on a mould in order to enlarge various spaces such as the conjunctival sac and the oral cavity. This method could also be used for grafting on irregular surfaces, e.g. the external ear and the hard or the soft palate. The principle of his method was that an impression of the surface to be grafted was made in 'dental mass'. Once the material had set, it was lined with the thinnest possible split-skin graft, with the cut surface outward. The mould covered with the skin graft was put into place, after which the skin was closed. Later on the mould was removed through another incision. Esser based his method on two principles which in his opinion were essential to adequate healing: equal pressure and total immobilization. This grafting method became known as 'epidermic inlay grafting' in English and as 'Epitheleinlage' in German. . . . Esser's publications attracted the attention of the Gillies group in Sidcup in Kent, England. This group played an active part in the treatment by plastic and reconstructive surgery of soldiers wounded in World War I. The 'epithelial inlay' of Esser was used on a large scale" (Klasen, History of Free Skin Grafting, pp. 105 and 107).…