Gusta Louise Isachsen (11 December 1875 – 11 March 1932) was a Norwegian physician. She was the country's first female surgeon. She was born in

Drøbak Drøbak is a town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in Akershus county, Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants. History Drøbak and Frogn was established as a parish on its own through a royal d ...

as a daughter of ship captain Nils Høgh Isachsen (1838–1913) and Cecilie Marie Sivertsen (1839–1909). She was a sister of polar researcher

Gunnar Isachsen Gunnerius Ingvald Isachsen (3 October 1868 – 19 December 1939), was a Norwegian military officer and polar scientist. From 1923, he was the first president of the Norwegian Maritime Museum. Early years He was born in Drøbak, Norway in 1868 ...

. After attending Ragna Nielsen's School from 1891 to 1893 she took her

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

at Gjertsen School. She enrolled in medicine studies at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

, at a time when this was still highly unusual for women, and graduated with the cand.med. degree in 1900. She was a medical candidate 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 20 ...

and Kristiania Municipal Hospital from 1901 to 1902 (together with fellow pioneer

Kristine Munch Kristine Munch (10 July 1873 – 11 October 1959) was a Norwegian physician. She was among the first female physicians in Norway. She was born in Horten as a daughter of priest Johan Storm Munch (1827–1908) and Kaja Michaeline Falch (1830–189 ...

), became interested in women's diseases and studied

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1902. Munch accompanied her, but studied different subjects. From 1903 Munch and Isachsen were running their own clinic in Kristiania. From 1908 to 1911 Isachsen was an assistant of Norway's first gynecologist Emil Rode, and studied gynecology abroad again in 1909, this time in

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

and

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 ...

. From 1910 to 1927 she was an assistant of birth doctor Christian Kielland in Kristiania, running the clinic during his numerous stays abroad. She was also a surgeon at Our Lady's Hospital from 1912, after four years as a surgery assistant. Between 1919 and 1931 she conducted several study trips to the United States, Germany, France, Austria and Sweden. Isachsen was a co-founder of three organizations for women: the Women Students' Choral Society (1895), the Women Students' Christian Association (1897) and the Medical Women's Association (1921). She was a board member of the

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. Details It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a sou ...

institution

Godthaab Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Greenland, most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of Government of Greenland, government an ...

from 1922. She was active in the contemporary debate regarding abortus provocatus, and held numerous public speeches, lectures and courses on hygiene and related subjects. She died in March 1932 in Oslo from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. A memorial stone was raised at her grave in 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isachsen, Louise 1875 births 1932 deaths People from Frogn University of Oslo alumni Norwegian obstetricians and gynaecologists Norwegian surgeons Norwegian women physicians Deaths from cancer in Norway Women surgeons