Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer (16 February 1837 – 16 June 1914) was a German

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

who was a native of Guntersblum in

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (, ) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is ...

. He was the father of

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Ferdinand Adalbert Kehrer (1883–1966).''Ferdinand Adalbert Kehrer''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

He studied medicine at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

under Ferdinand von Ritgen (1787–1867), at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

with Karl von Hecker (1827–1882) and in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

under Karl von Braun-Fernwald (1822–1891). From 1872 to 1881, he was a "full professor" of obstetrics at the

, where he also served as director of the ''Frauenklinik''. In 1881 he relocated to the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

as chair of gynecology. Kehrer is remembered for performing the first modern

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...

. It involved a transverse incision of the lower segment of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

, a procedure that minimizes bleeding, and is still widely used today, typically in form of the

Pfannenstiel incision A Pfannenstiel incision , Kerr incision, Pfannenstiel-Kerr incision or pubic incision is a type of abdominal surgical incision that allows access to the abdomen. It is used for gynecologic and orthopedics surgeries, and it is the most common m ...

, a modification made by

Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel (28 June 1862 – 3 July 1909) was a German gynecologist born in Berlin. In 1885 he received his doctorate in Berlin and afterwards worked as a hospital assistant in Posen. He later moved to Breslau, where in 1 ...

in 1900.

On 25 September 1881, in the town of

Meckesheim Meckesheim is a village in south western Germany. It is located between Heidelberg and Sinsheim in the Rhein-Neckar district in the state of Baden-Württemberg. History In 772 and 822 Meckesheim was mentioned for the first times as ''Heim des ...

, he performed the first modern C-section. The patient was a 26-year-old woman, and the operation proved to be a success. Prior to Kehrer's operation, Caesarean sections were seldom performed, and when they were, the

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically ...

of mothers was very high. The following year, Max Sanger (1853–1903), introduced the practice of

suturing A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold Tissue (biology), body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a Sewing needle, needle w ...

the uterus' Caesarean wound. He died in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Selected publications

* ''Die Geburten in Schädellagen mit rückwärts gerichtetem Hinterhaupt'', (dissertation- Giessen 1860) * ''Lehrbuch der Geburtshilfe für Hebammen'', (Textbook of

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

for midwives), 1880 and 1891 * ''Ueber den Soorpilz– Pulscurve im Wochenbett'', (Heidelberg 1883) * ''Physiologie und Pathologie des Wochenbetts'', (

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

of the

puerperium The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

), in Volumes I and III of P. Müller's Handbuch der Geburtshülfe (1888–89) * ''Lehrbuch der operativen Geburtshilfe'', (Textbook of operative obstetrics), 1891.

References

External links

* ''This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

''. 1837 births 1914 deaths Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of Heidelberg University German gynaecologists German obstetricians People from Rhenish Hesse People from Mainz-Bingen {{Germany-med-bio-stub