Axel Hermansen Cappelen (20 July 1858 – 13 November 1919) was a Norwegian surgeon. He was born in Selje as a son of district physician Johan Nicolay Cappelen (1818–1890) and Elisabeth Brunchorst Ravn (1825–1906). His brother

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

was also a physician, and through him, Axel was an uncle of Minister of Justice Johan Cappelen.''Hvem er hvem?'' 1912
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(1912), p. 81 He attended

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School ( Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Lo ...

and finished his secondary education in 1876. He graduated from the Royal Frederick University with the cand.med. degree in 1883. After spending the four last months of 1884 at

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 200 ...

, he moved to Kabelvaag in 1885 to become the municipal physician of Vaagan. Here he married Johanne Marie Kaarbø in 1886. They had one daughter and three sons. One of their sons, Thor, also became a physician and was the father of architect Per Cappelen. In 1889 Axel Cappelen was hired at Nordre Trondhjem County Hospital in

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kli ...

. He remained here for the next years, and was also the acting district physician of East Lofoten in 1888–1889 as well as acting district physician of

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in Trøndelag, consisting of the municipalities Osen, Roan Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra and Frøya. The district is dominated by forested valleys, lakes, coastal cliffs but also shallow ...

in 1891. After a period in the surgical department at

from 1893 to 1896 he served as chief physician at Stavanger Hospital from 1897 until his death. At Rikshospitalet he is credited with performing the first surgery on a human heart on 4 September 1895. The patient needed emergency surgery due to a knife wound. Cappelen accessed the

thoracic cavity The thoracic cavity (or chest cavity) is the chamber of the body of vertebrates that is protected by the thoracic wall (rib cage and associated skin, muscle, and fascia). The central compartment of the thoracic cavity is the mediastinum. There ...

by cutting through the fourth rib. He repaired the wound of the

left ventricle A ventricle is one of two large chambers toward the bottom of the heart that collect and expel blood towards the peripheral beds within the body and lungs. The blood pumped by a ventricle is supplied by an atrium, an adjacent chamber in the upper ...

where the patient had sustained the stab wounds from the left side of his chest. After two days of

intensive care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

, the patient died of

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignor ...

and not because of the repairing of the heart. At the autopsy the wound was found to be satisfactorily closed. He was a fellow of the German Society of Surgery. In August 1918 he was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

. He died in November 1919 from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion ...

. A bust of him was unveiled outside of Stavanger Hospital in 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappelen, Axel 1858 births 1919 deaths People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Norwegian cardiac surgeons Oslo University Hospital people Neurological disease deaths in Norway Infectious disease deaths in Norway Deaths from meningitis People from Sogn og Fjordane Axel