Newsletters
April 2007 Newsletter: Experimental thyroid surgery
Our understanding of thyroid physiology is largely based upon the outcomes of experimental thyroid surgery in animals. Schiff (1859) first described the striking results of ablation of the thyroid in experimental animals but it was not until 1884 that the matter was put on a firm basis by the same observer. He then also showed that by means of homotransplants of the thyroid, the consequences of thyroidectomy could be avoided, and foreshadowed the possibility of emulsions of the gland having a similar effect.
March 2006 Newsletter: History of laryngoscopy
Routine laryngoscopy is part of the pre-operative assessment for patients undergoing thyroid or parathyroid surgery and is, as such, an integral component of endocrine surgical practice. Indirect laryngoscopy however was actually invented by an opera singer. The laryngoscope was invented by the Spanish singer Manuel Garcia in order to allow him to inspect his own vocal cords during singing practice. He recalled “I have often thought of using a mirror to observe the larynx from within while singing but had always considered it impossible.
January 2007 Newsletter: Lugol’s Iodine
An invaluable adjunct in the pre-operative preparation of patients with Graves’ Disease, Lugol’s iodine markedly reduces both the size and vascularity of the gland – however that was not the intent of its creator. Jean Guillaume Auguste Lugol was born in 1786 at Montauban, France. He graduated MD Paris in 1812 and seven years later was appointed to the staff of the Hopital St Louis. His great interest in life was scrofula, a collective term applied to tuberculous lymph nodes, tuberculous bones , and tuberculous joints before it was known that these conditions were caused by the same organism that caused pulmonary tuberculosis.
November 2005 Newsletter: The first successful phaeochromocytoma removal
At the IAES Meeting in Durban in August, Jon van Heerden presented the story of Mother Joachim, the first successfully removed phaeochromocytoma in the US. Whilst a number of such tumours had been previously removed in Europe, the accurate recording and astute observations make a fascinating story.
July 2005 Newsletter: Non-resectional surgery for thyrotoxicosis
Cecil Joll devoted an entire chapter of his historic book to non resectional surgical treatment of thyrotoxicosis. The following are selected extracts.
