Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel (28 June 1862 – 3 July 1909) 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 ...

born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1885 he received his doctorate in

and afterwards worked as a hospital assistant in Posen. He later moved to Breslau, where in 1896 he became an associate professor. In 1902 he was appointed chair of the department of

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

and gynecology 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 ...

, and five years later, he attained a similar position at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

. From 1891 he was secretary of the German Society for Gynaecology (''Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie''). Beginning in 1896, he was co-editor of the journal ''Archiv für Gynäkologie'' (Archives of Gynaecology). Among his better known publications were works on ovarian

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 ...

uterine The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bir ...

tumors and the formation of

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoder ...

s following

ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'', is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to ...

. In 1908 he was the first physician to give a comprehensive description of familial icterus gravis neonatorum. Pfannenstiel is best remembered for the eponymous

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 transverse incision used in genitourinary

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

that is still widely used today. He published his paper in 1900 when he described 51 cases. His intent was to decrease the risk of an incisional

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

; results also proved to be cosmetically better.Powell JL. Powell's Pearls: Pfannenstiel and Torpin. ACOG Clinical Review (2008) 13:4:12–13 ISSN 1085-6862 On 3 July 1909 at the age of 47, Pfannenstiel died from

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

after having injured his finger during surgery for a tubo-ovarian abscess. He was the father of Wilhelm Pfannenstiel. Pfannenstiel married Elisabeth Behlendorff in 1889.

References

External links

Diagram of Pfannenstiel's incision
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfannenstiel, Hermann Johannes 1862 births 1909 deaths Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Giessen German gynaecologists Physicians from Berlin Physicians from the Province of Brandenburg Humboldt University of Berlin alumni