The contributions of Alexis Carrel to the management of contaminated wounds
Limjoco, U.R.; Landon, C.W.; Ragland, J.J.; Carrel, A.
Canadian Journal of Surgery. Journal Canadien de Chirurgie 38(2): 183-187
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0008-428X PMID: 7728675 Document Number: 454339
Wound care through the ages has ranged from good to bad, and at times has been disgusting, with little scientific approach. von Eiselsberg's dictum of no touch for military wounds proved disastrous to patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds in the First World War. Alexis Carrel, a brilliant experimental surgeon, spearheaded the research that led to the development and application of débridement and irrigation for combat wounds. Early in his career, Carrel reported on a miraculous cure that he had observed in Lourdes, France. However, this report resulted in a strained professional environment in his homeland of France, which persisted in spite of his subsequent moves to Canada and then to the United States. There he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.