Kurt Semm and the fight against skepticism : endoscopic hemostasis, laparoscopic appendectomy, and Semm's impact on the "laparoscopic revolution"

  • In the 1970s, Semm developed thermocoagulation, adapted the Roeder Loop, and further invented extra- and intracoporeal endoscopic knotting to achieve endoscopic hemostasis. His numerous technical inventions, especially the electronic insufflator, allowed more complex operations to be performed laparoscopically. His technique, however, was not quickly adopted by the surgical community. When the first fully laparoscopic appendectomy was carried out by Semm in 1980, a veritable storm broke loose. In the opinion of many prominent surgeons, Semm exaggerated the problem of adhesions, and laparoscopic technique itself was regarded as very dangerous. Misunderstood by medical scientists, Semm displayed an ability to force his ideas through despite skepticism and suspicion. He realized that endoscopic surgery had tremendous potential, and promoted laparoscopic technique not only in his field of gynecology but among general surgeons as well. In 1985, Muhe, of Boblingen, Germany, used Semm's technique to remove the first gallbladder in the world laparoscopically. Three years later when Semm presented a videotape of his laparoscopic appendectomy in Baltimore, he gave impetus to McKernan and Save of Marietta. Georgia, to carry out the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the United States.

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Author:Grzegorz S. Litynski
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-267440
URL:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3015306/
ISSN:1086-8089
ISSN:1938-3797
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9876762
Parent Title (English):Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
Publisher:Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
Place of publication:Miami, Fla.
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:1998
Year of first Publication:1998
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2012/10/10
Volume:2
Issue:3
Page Number:5
First Page:309
Last Page:313
Note:
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits for noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not altered in any way.
HeBIS-PPN:358293715
Institutes:Medizin / Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung 3.0