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8vo. 12pp. Original printed wrappers. A pioneering work in plastic surgery. This is a first offprint issue, published by the American Journal of Medical Science, for April, 1848. Dr. J. Mason Warren (1811-1867), introduces in his own words, "In a paper published in the New England Medical and Surgical Journal, for 1843, and republished in this Journal of the same year, I gave the result of fourteen cases of fissure of the soft and hard palate, treated by a new operation." . . . He describes his procedure thus, "First, where bones composing the arch of the palate were divided, to dissect off the mucus membrane covering them, on each side, as far back as the alveolar processes, if necessary, stretching it across the fissure, and confining it in this situation by sutures; the flaps, . . .".[p. 1]. / Warren was one of the earliest Americans to specialize in plastic and reconstructive surgery, performing the first operations for rhinoplasty in the United States, developing a procedure for closure of the cleft palate, and providing one of the earliest accounts of a successful skin graft. "Dr. J. Mason Warren published his account of the first American rhinoplasty in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal for March 8, 1837. The article is a landmark in the history of plastic surgery in this country. It was reprinted with two additional cases in 1840. The case appears again, thirty years later, in Dr. Warren's Surgical operations with cases and observations (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867)." [Countway]. / In 1846, Dr. J. Mason Warren was appointed visiting surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Warren first met William T. G. Morton in the autumn of 1846 and introduced him to his father, Dr. John Collins Warren. J. Mason Warren used ether anesthesia administered by Morton in his private practice as early as November 1846 and is believed to have anesthestized the first child, a 12-year-old, for a surgical procedure in December of that year. / The third generation of the Warrens associated with Harvard Medical School was represented by Jonathan Mason Warren. Born on February 5, 1811, the fourth child and third son of Dr. John Collins Warren, J. Mason Warren entered Harvard College in 1827, and received his medical degree in 1832. Like his father, he continued his studies of surgery with some of the most eminent men in Europe, returning to practice in Boston in 1835. Of the five Warrens attached to Harvard Medical School, however, J. Mason Warren was the only one never to hold a position on the faculty. Warren died on August 19, 1867. [Countway] / "Jonathan Mason Warren's position in the history of medicine has generally been overlooked. Perhaps this is due to having been the son and grandson as well as the father of illustrious surgeons. Yet by his own accomplishments, Mason Warren should stand alone. His contributions were more than isolated surgical feats. Systematically, he explored the possibilities of reconstructive surgery. Through his techniques and writings and his prominence in American medicine, he made his profession aware of what this kind of surgery could offer the patient." - Goldwyn, "Jonathan Mason Warren and His Contribution to Plastic Surgery", in McDowell, p. 466; see pp. 460-66).
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