- Email: [email protected]
Beyond Buck's Fascia: The Life and Contributions of Dr. Gurdon Buck (1807-1877)
History Beyond Buck’s Fascia: The Life and Contributions of Dr. Gurdon Buck (1807-1877) Bradley J. Buck and Steven H. Selman
G
urdon Buck (1807-1877), one of the foremost American surgeons of the 19th century, is best known among urologists for his 1848 description of the deep fascia of the penis. However his report,1 “A New Feature in the Anatomical Structure of the Genito-Urinary Organs Not Hitherto Described” represents only a small fraction of his work. In the field of urology alone, Dr. Buck also published reports on the treatment of vesicovaginal fistulas,2 testicular tumors,3 the removal of foreign objects from the urethra and bladder,4,5 and a book on lithotomy and lithotrity6 (Fig. 1). In other specialties, he is widely recognized as the author of the first text of plastic surgery,7 the father of intralaryngeal surgery,8 the first to apply weight extension for the treatment of fractures,9 and the first to use pre- and postoperative photography.10 In the present report we offer a biographical sketch of Dr. Gurdon Buck. We also explore his contributions to urology beyond his description of Buck’s fascia and to otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, and medical photography.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Gurdon Buck was born on May 4, 1807 to Gurdon Buck, Sr. and Susannah Manwarning Buck, the grandchildren of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall of Connecticut.11 Throughout his youth Buck’s father, a merchant, attempted to recruit his son to the family business. However in the mid-to-late 1820s, Gurdon Buck entered the office of Dr. Thomas Cock, then a fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and began the study of medicine.12 In 1830, Gurdon Buck received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Upon passing his examinations he accepted an 18-month house physician appointment at the New York Hospital. Subsequently he left for Europe, spending the next two-and-one-half years From the Department of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, Ohio Reprint requests: Bradley J. Buck, M.S., Department of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine, 3065 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, OH 43614. E-mail: [email protected] Submitted: March 28, 2011, accepted (with revisions): March 28, 2011
492
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved
studying surgery in the hospitals of Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna.11 On his return he was named attending physician at the private, philanthropically supported New York Dispensary. His stay there was also short-lived, when in 1835 he embarked on a two-year trip to Europe. In addition to his surgical endeavors Dr. Buck reunited with Miss Henrietta E. Wolff, whom he had met during his previous stay in Europe. They were married on July 27, 1836 and returned to New York City three months later. At that time Dr. Buck assumed the position of visiting surgeon at the New York Hospital.13 It was in the rooms and operating theaters here that Buck did much of his work for which he is now widely known. Dr. Buck remained affiliated with the New York Hospital until his death on March 6, 1877 from a uremic coma. He is buried in the New York Marble Cemetery in the East Village of Manhattan. During his career Gurdon Buck played instrumental roles in the founding of many New York institutions. In 1846, with the forming of St. Luke’s Hospital, Dr. Buck sat on the managing board and assumed visiting surgeon status upon its opening in 1858. In 1847, the New York Academy of Medicine was established, with Dr. Buck as one of its original fellows. Twice he held its vice-presidency, once from 1852 to 1856 and again from 1859 to 1860. In 1872, Presbyterian Hospital opened and Buck was appointed as visiting surgeon. At that time, he resigned his position at St. Luke’s and remained at Presbyterian for four years until 1876, at which time his failing health relegated him to consulting surgeon status.13 Other career accomplishments include an 1852 appointment to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary as an attending surgeon—a position he held until 1862; president of the New York Pathological Society; trustee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons; trustee of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; trustee of the New York Ophthalmic and Aural Institute, and member of local and nation medical associations, including the American Medical Association.12
CONTRIBUTIONS Presently Dr. Gurdon Buck is best known for his description of Buck’s fascia of the penis and for his use of weight 0090-4295/11/$36.00 doi:10.1016/j.urology.2011.03.066
Figure 1. Dr. Gurdon Buck’s 1872 work “Lithotomy and Lithotrity” including (A) a photograph of the title page and (B) book cover. (C) An Illustration of a bladder calculus from the publication. (D) From top to bottom: a duckbill lithoclast, a urethral lithoclast, and a fenestrated lithoclast as used by Dr. Buck and contained in the work.
extension for the treatment of fractures. However, to know Buck solely by these two contributions does not accurately portray the scope of his work in either urology or orthopedics. Nor does it illustrate his ingenuity in other specialties including otolaryngology, plastic surgery, and general surgery. To this end we describe Dr. Buck’s major contributions to these fields, beginning with urology. However, we remind the reader our report does not include all of Buck’s minor contributions and case reports. A more complete bibliography of his work can be found in F.A. Castle’s 1877 biographical sketch of Dr. Buck. Dr. Buck began publishing in the field of urology in 1848 with his description of the deep fascia of the penis. However, “A New Feature in the Anatomical Structure of the Genito-Urinary Organs Not Hitherto Described,” although important, represents a small portion of his overall impact on the field. In 1872, just five years before his death, Dr. Buck published a text detailing 50 operations in the care of bladder calculi (Fig. 1).6 Titled “Lithotomy and Lithotrity,” he discusses both open procedures through the perineum and lithotripsy per urethra. Throughout his career, he published on the removal of nontesticular occupying fatty tumor of the scrotum,3 lithotrite-assisted removal of both a bougie4 and a gumelastic catheter5 contained within the bladder, successful repair of a vesicovaginal fistula,2 placement of a suprapuUROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
bic tube after injury to the urethra with subsequent restoration of urine flow per urethra,14 circumcision for the relief of phimosis,15 and the pathology and presentation of bladder and prostate carcinoma.16 A photograph of Dr. Buck’s urologic surgery instruments is shown in Figure 2. In the field of otolaryngology, Dr. Buck is known for his surgical skill in the treatment of laryngeal pathology. To this day, Dr. Buck is regarded as the father of intralaryngeal surgery.8 His report17 titled “Case of Croup in Which Tracheotomy was Successfully Employed” was particularly well received in the surgical community. However, he was also known for his surgical approach to laryngeal growths. In such cases, he entered from the ventral larynx, incising the thyroid, cricoid, and laryngeal rings, with subsequent excision of the growth.18-20 His treatment of edematous laryngitis, in which he developed his own procedure and instrumentation, is also noteworthy.21 With the patient awake and sitting up and a small piece of wood placed between the patient’s upper and lower molars, Dr. Buck would insert his finger down the throat. With ventrally placed pressure on the epiglottis, a curved knife of his own invention was inserted, using the finger as a guide, and the glottis/epiglottis scarified. In the treatment of bone fracture and disease, Buck is best known for Buck’s traction—a method used to this 493
Figure 2. Dr. Gurdon Buck’s urologic surgery set. (Top Left) Six male urethral sounds. (Top Right) Two female urethral sounds. (Center) Six bladder forceps and one urethra dilator. (Bottom Left) Five male urethral sounds. (Bottom Right) Scoop and four lithotomy blades. Photograph courtesy of Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork, NY.
day in treating fractures of the femur.9 Because of its ease of use and necessity during the American Civil War, it immediately won approval worldwide. So popular and useful was it that to this day Buck’s traction is perhaps the most widely hospital applied apparatus of any kind.22 Dr. Buck also published on the treatment of a knee ankylosed, or fused, at a right angle.23 After excision of portions of the patella, condyles, and tibial surface, function was partially restored. He is less well known for his excision of osteocancer from the axial skeleton24 and excision of the elbow joint secondary to septic arthritis.25 As a plastic reparative surgeon, Buck is known as perhaps the most influential surgeon in the field during the 19th century.10 His reconstructive operations, first performed in New York City in 1862, were a direct result of the American Civil War. Early that year, Governor Edwin D. Morgan of New York appointed him to the auxiliary corps of volunteer surgeons.13 After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, Buck began reparative operations on injured solders.13 His early work focused on reconstruction after traumatic injury to the face, as noted in the army documents of the day.26 From then on his plastic surgery procedures became more diverse, including operations to repair a cleft palate,27 an enlarged lip,28 and an opening in the nasal fossa,29 among others. It was not until 1876 that he made his most well-known contribution to plastic surgery. Titled “Contributions to Reparative Surgery,”7 Gurdon Buck authored the first American textbook on reparative plastic surgery. The book included pre- and postoperative pho494
tographs that detailed his work on traumatic facial injury, congenital abnormalities, and burns. Buck’s interest in photographic documentation, as seen in “Contributions to Reparative Surgery,” produced not only the wonderful daguerreotype photographs seen there. More than 20 years before Dr. Buck’s (1845) orthopedics report “The Knee-Joint Anchylosed at a Right Angle” contained the first known photograph of the operative patient10—making him a source of legend in the field of medical photography. Other contributions of Gurdon Buck include new procedures in the treatment of femoral aneurysm,30 abscess drainage within the iliac fossa,31 and pulsating exophthalmos.32 He was also known for a method of hemostasis called the “New York Twist,” in which the artery was folded on itself and pierced with a pin.33 In the general surgical community he was regarded for his surgical approach to appendicitis34 and rectal pathology.15
COMMENT Throughout his career Gurdon Buck had a profound impact on the surgical community. In urology alone he contributed a book on the surgical treatment of bladder calculi and numerous case reports ranging from prostate pathology to foreign body removal from the bladder. In orthopedics he invented the most widely used hospital apparatus to this day, Buck’s traction. For his treatment of laryngeal pathology he is known as the father of intralaryngeal surgery among otolaryngologists. As the UROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
author of the first text of reparative surgery, Dr. Buck’s impact on the plastic surgery community was profound. However, outside the operating room Buck’s impact is perhaps equally impressive. He was a founding member of St. Luke’s Hospital and an original fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Throughout his career Dr. Buck added to the recognition of Presbyterian Hospital and contributed much to the legend of the New York Hospital. He is also known for his service to such organizations as the New York Pathological Society and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Taken together, Dr. Buck’s impact on medicine places him among the foremost American surgeons of the 19th century. Without doubt, Buck will continue to receive recognition for his description of the deep fascia of the penis. However, we hope he is also remembered for his diverse surgical skill, ingenuity, and service to the medical community.
12. 13. 14.
15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
20.
Acknowledgments. The authors would like to thank associate archivist Elizabeth M. Shepard and archives volunteer Rachel Moskowitz at the Medical Center Archives of NewYorkPresbyterian/Weill Cornell for their help in obtaining the photograph of Dr. Buck’s instruments. Additionally we recognize Daniel Murtagh Jr. for his careful review of the manuscript, and Brent A. Buck for his photo-editing assistance.
21.
References
24.
1. Buck G. A new feature in the anatomical structure of the genitourinary organs not hitherto described. Transact Am Med Assoc. 1848;1:367-372. 2. Buck G. A case of successful operation for vesico-vaginal fistula. NY Med Times. 1855;4:1-4. 3. Buck G. A fatty tumor occupying the scrotum. Med Record. 1871; 5:390-391. 4. Buck G. A case in which a fragment of a gutta percha bougie was discharged from the bladder after being broken up by Civiale’s lithotrite. NY Med Times. 1852;1:38-40. 5. Buck G. A flexible gum-elastic catheter escapes into the bladder. Med Record. 1869;4:529-530. 6. Buck G. Lithotomy and Lithotrity. New York: W. Wood; 1872:1-59. 7. Buck G. Contributions to Reparative Surgery. New York: D. Appleton; 1876:1-237. 8. Delavan DB. Address of Dr. D. Bryson Delavan delivered in part at the dinner given him by the New York Laryngological Society on his 86th birthday. Bull NY Acad Med. 1936;12:520. 9. Buck G. New treatment for fractures of the femur. Bull NY Acad Med. 1862;1:181-188. 10. Rogers BO. The first pre- and post-operative photographs of plastic and reconstructive surgery: contributions of Gurdon Buck (18071877). Aesthet Plast Surg. 1991;15:19-33. 11. Buck A. The Bucks of Wethersfield, Connecticut and the Families with Which They are Connected by Marriage: A Biographical and Genea-
UROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
22. 23.
25. 26.
27. 28.
29.
30. 31. 32. 33. 34.
logical Sketch. Roanoke, VA: Stone Printing and Manufacturing; 1909:13-25. Castle FA. Biographical sketch of Gurdon Buck, M.D. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1877;367-374. Francis SW. Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Living New York Surgeons. New York: J. Bradburn; 1866:153-162. Buck G. Closure of urethra from Injury of the perineum— urine Discharge by Artificial Opening above the Pubes—Natural Passage Restored by Operation. New York. J Med. 1844;3:201-203. Warren JC. Etherization; With Surgical Remarks. Boston: Ticknor; 1849:28-30. Buck G. Cancerous disease of bladder and prostate— death from hemorrhage of bladder. Bull NY Acad Med. 1857;2:357-358. Buck G. Case of croup in which tracheotomy was successfully employed. Transact N Y Acad Med. 1857;1:117-121. Buck G. Epithelioma of the larynx. NY Med J. 1865;1:226-228. Buck G. Polypoid growth; tracheotomy; thyroid and cricoid cartilages divided; growth removed: result successful; respiration perfect; voice good, though hoarse. Med Chir Trans. 1872;55:61-63. Buck G. Papillary growth; tracheotomy; larynx opened in median line; growth removed: result negative; case incomplete. Med Chir Trans. 1872;55:83-84. Buck G. Edematous laryngitis successfully treated by scarifications of the glottis and epiglottis. Transact Am Med Assoc. 1848;1:135-158. Mostofi S. Who’s Who in Orthopedics. New York: Springer, 2005: 46-47. Buck G. The knee-joint anchylosed at a right angle—restored nearly to a straight position after the excision of a wedge-shaped portion of bone, consisting of the patella, condyles and articular surface of the tibia. Am J Med Sci. 1845;10:277-284. Fowler RS. Interscapulo-thoracic amputation. Ann Surg. 1900;31: 199. Buck G. Excision of the elbow joint, in a case of suppuration and caries of the bones. N Y J Med Surg. 1840;3-4:330-338. Woodhull AA. Catalogue of the Surgical Section of the United States Army Medical Museum: Prepared under the Direction of the Surgeon General. Bethesda: Government Printing Office; 1866: 564-565. Buck G. A case of double hare-lip and cleft palate, successfully operated on. Med Record. 1866;1:3. Buck G. A case of congenital hypertrophy of the under-lip, successfully treated by surgical operations. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1871;1:171. Buck G. A case of plastic operation, performed for the closure of an opening into the right superior nasal fossa. Med Record. 1871;5:535. Progress of medical science: at home and abroad. BMJ. 1860;s4-1: 707. Buck G. Post-fascial abscess originating in the iliac fossa with a new method of treatment. NY J Med. 1857;2:147-163. Murray FW. The treatment of pulsating exophthalmos. Ann Surg. 1904;39:421-432. Peters GA. An essay on acupressure, with some reference to its application in the continuity of arteries. NY Med J. 1869;9:240-241. Mynter H. On the pathology of appendicitis. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1891;202-208.
495
G
urdon Buck (1807-1877), one of the foremost American surgeons of the 19th century, is best known among urologists for his 1848 description of the deep fascia of the penis. However his report,1 “A New Feature in the Anatomical Structure of the Genito-Urinary Organs Not Hitherto Described” represents only a small fraction of his work. In the field of urology alone, Dr. Buck also published reports on the treatment of vesicovaginal fistulas,2 testicular tumors,3 the removal of foreign objects from the urethra and bladder,4,5 and a book on lithotomy and lithotrity6 (Fig. 1). In other specialties, he is widely recognized as the author of the first text of plastic surgery,7 the father of intralaryngeal surgery,8 the first to apply weight extension for the treatment of fractures,9 and the first to use pre- and postoperative photography.10 In the present report we offer a biographical sketch of Dr. Gurdon Buck. We also explore his contributions to urology beyond his description of Buck’s fascia and to otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, and medical photography.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Gurdon Buck was born on May 4, 1807 to Gurdon Buck, Sr. and Susannah Manwarning Buck, the grandchildren of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall of Connecticut.11 Throughout his youth Buck’s father, a merchant, attempted to recruit his son to the family business. However in the mid-to-late 1820s, Gurdon Buck entered the office of Dr. Thomas Cock, then a fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and began the study of medicine.12 In 1830, Gurdon Buck received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Upon passing his examinations he accepted an 18-month house physician appointment at the New York Hospital. Subsequently he left for Europe, spending the next two-and-one-half years From the Department of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, Ohio Reprint requests: Bradley J. Buck, M.S., Department of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine, 3065 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, OH 43614. E-mail: [email protected] Submitted: March 28, 2011, accepted (with revisions): March 28, 2011
492
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved
studying surgery in the hospitals of Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna.11 On his return he was named attending physician at the private, philanthropically supported New York Dispensary. His stay there was also short-lived, when in 1835 he embarked on a two-year trip to Europe. In addition to his surgical endeavors Dr. Buck reunited with Miss Henrietta E. Wolff, whom he had met during his previous stay in Europe. They were married on July 27, 1836 and returned to New York City three months later. At that time Dr. Buck assumed the position of visiting surgeon at the New York Hospital.13 It was in the rooms and operating theaters here that Buck did much of his work for which he is now widely known. Dr. Buck remained affiliated with the New York Hospital until his death on March 6, 1877 from a uremic coma. He is buried in the New York Marble Cemetery in the East Village of Manhattan. During his career Gurdon Buck played instrumental roles in the founding of many New York institutions. In 1846, with the forming of St. Luke’s Hospital, Dr. Buck sat on the managing board and assumed visiting surgeon status upon its opening in 1858. In 1847, the New York Academy of Medicine was established, with Dr. Buck as one of its original fellows. Twice he held its vice-presidency, once from 1852 to 1856 and again from 1859 to 1860. In 1872, Presbyterian Hospital opened and Buck was appointed as visiting surgeon. At that time, he resigned his position at St. Luke’s and remained at Presbyterian for four years until 1876, at which time his failing health relegated him to consulting surgeon status.13 Other career accomplishments include an 1852 appointment to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary as an attending surgeon—a position he held until 1862; president of the New York Pathological Society; trustee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons; trustee of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; trustee of the New York Ophthalmic and Aural Institute, and member of local and nation medical associations, including the American Medical Association.12
CONTRIBUTIONS Presently Dr. Gurdon Buck is best known for his description of Buck’s fascia of the penis and for his use of weight 0090-4295/11/$36.00 doi:10.1016/j.urology.2011.03.066
Figure 1. Dr. Gurdon Buck’s 1872 work “Lithotomy and Lithotrity” including (A) a photograph of the title page and (B) book cover. (C) An Illustration of a bladder calculus from the publication. (D) From top to bottom: a duckbill lithoclast, a urethral lithoclast, and a fenestrated lithoclast as used by Dr. Buck and contained in the work.
extension for the treatment of fractures. However, to know Buck solely by these two contributions does not accurately portray the scope of his work in either urology or orthopedics. Nor does it illustrate his ingenuity in other specialties including otolaryngology, plastic surgery, and general surgery. To this end we describe Dr. Buck’s major contributions to these fields, beginning with urology. However, we remind the reader our report does not include all of Buck’s minor contributions and case reports. A more complete bibliography of his work can be found in F.A. Castle’s 1877 biographical sketch of Dr. Buck. Dr. Buck began publishing in the field of urology in 1848 with his description of the deep fascia of the penis. However, “A New Feature in the Anatomical Structure of the Genito-Urinary Organs Not Hitherto Described,” although important, represents a small portion of his overall impact on the field. In 1872, just five years before his death, Dr. Buck published a text detailing 50 operations in the care of bladder calculi (Fig. 1).6 Titled “Lithotomy and Lithotrity,” he discusses both open procedures through the perineum and lithotripsy per urethra. Throughout his career, he published on the removal of nontesticular occupying fatty tumor of the scrotum,3 lithotrite-assisted removal of both a bougie4 and a gumelastic catheter5 contained within the bladder, successful repair of a vesicovaginal fistula,2 placement of a suprapuUROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
bic tube after injury to the urethra with subsequent restoration of urine flow per urethra,14 circumcision for the relief of phimosis,15 and the pathology and presentation of bladder and prostate carcinoma.16 A photograph of Dr. Buck’s urologic surgery instruments is shown in Figure 2. In the field of otolaryngology, Dr. Buck is known for his surgical skill in the treatment of laryngeal pathology. To this day, Dr. Buck is regarded as the father of intralaryngeal surgery.8 His report17 titled “Case of Croup in Which Tracheotomy was Successfully Employed” was particularly well received in the surgical community. However, he was also known for his surgical approach to laryngeal growths. In such cases, he entered from the ventral larynx, incising the thyroid, cricoid, and laryngeal rings, with subsequent excision of the growth.18-20 His treatment of edematous laryngitis, in which he developed his own procedure and instrumentation, is also noteworthy.21 With the patient awake and sitting up and a small piece of wood placed between the patient’s upper and lower molars, Dr. Buck would insert his finger down the throat. With ventrally placed pressure on the epiglottis, a curved knife of his own invention was inserted, using the finger as a guide, and the glottis/epiglottis scarified. In the treatment of bone fracture and disease, Buck is best known for Buck’s traction—a method used to this 493
Figure 2. Dr. Gurdon Buck’s urologic surgery set. (Top Left) Six male urethral sounds. (Top Right) Two female urethral sounds. (Center) Six bladder forceps and one urethra dilator. (Bottom Left) Five male urethral sounds. (Bottom Right) Scoop and four lithotomy blades. Photograph courtesy of Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork, NY.
day in treating fractures of the femur.9 Because of its ease of use and necessity during the American Civil War, it immediately won approval worldwide. So popular and useful was it that to this day Buck’s traction is perhaps the most widely hospital applied apparatus of any kind.22 Dr. Buck also published on the treatment of a knee ankylosed, or fused, at a right angle.23 After excision of portions of the patella, condyles, and tibial surface, function was partially restored. He is less well known for his excision of osteocancer from the axial skeleton24 and excision of the elbow joint secondary to septic arthritis.25 As a plastic reparative surgeon, Buck is known as perhaps the most influential surgeon in the field during the 19th century.10 His reconstructive operations, first performed in New York City in 1862, were a direct result of the American Civil War. Early that year, Governor Edwin D. Morgan of New York appointed him to the auxiliary corps of volunteer surgeons.13 After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, Buck began reparative operations on injured solders.13 His early work focused on reconstruction after traumatic injury to the face, as noted in the army documents of the day.26 From then on his plastic surgery procedures became more diverse, including operations to repair a cleft palate,27 an enlarged lip,28 and an opening in the nasal fossa,29 among others. It was not until 1876 that he made his most well-known contribution to plastic surgery. Titled “Contributions to Reparative Surgery,”7 Gurdon Buck authored the first American textbook on reparative plastic surgery. The book included pre- and postoperative pho494
tographs that detailed his work on traumatic facial injury, congenital abnormalities, and burns. Buck’s interest in photographic documentation, as seen in “Contributions to Reparative Surgery,” produced not only the wonderful daguerreotype photographs seen there. More than 20 years before Dr. Buck’s (1845) orthopedics report “The Knee-Joint Anchylosed at a Right Angle” contained the first known photograph of the operative patient10—making him a source of legend in the field of medical photography. Other contributions of Gurdon Buck include new procedures in the treatment of femoral aneurysm,30 abscess drainage within the iliac fossa,31 and pulsating exophthalmos.32 He was also known for a method of hemostasis called the “New York Twist,” in which the artery was folded on itself and pierced with a pin.33 In the general surgical community he was regarded for his surgical approach to appendicitis34 and rectal pathology.15
COMMENT Throughout his career Gurdon Buck had a profound impact on the surgical community. In urology alone he contributed a book on the surgical treatment of bladder calculi and numerous case reports ranging from prostate pathology to foreign body removal from the bladder. In orthopedics he invented the most widely used hospital apparatus to this day, Buck’s traction. For his treatment of laryngeal pathology he is known as the father of intralaryngeal surgery among otolaryngologists. As the UROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
author of the first text of reparative surgery, Dr. Buck’s impact on the plastic surgery community was profound. However, outside the operating room Buck’s impact is perhaps equally impressive. He was a founding member of St. Luke’s Hospital and an original fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Throughout his career Dr. Buck added to the recognition of Presbyterian Hospital and contributed much to the legend of the New York Hospital. He is also known for his service to such organizations as the New York Pathological Society and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Taken together, Dr. Buck’s impact on medicine places him among the foremost American surgeons of the 19th century. Without doubt, Buck will continue to receive recognition for his description of the deep fascia of the penis. However, we hope he is also remembered for his diverse surgical skill, ingenuity, and service to the medical community.
12. 13. 14.
15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
20.
Acknowledgments. The authors would like to thank associate archivist Elizabeth M. Shepard and archives volunteer Rachel Moskowitz at the Medical Center Archives of NewYorkPresbyterian/Weill Cornell for their help in obtaining the photograph of Dr. Buck’s instruments. Additionally we recognize Daniel Murtagh Jr. for his careful review of the manuscript, and Brent A. Buck for his photo-editing assistance.
21.
References
24.
1. Buck G. A new feature in the anatomical structure of the genitourinary organs not hitherto described. Transact Am Med Assoc. 1848;1:367-372. 2. Buck G. A case of successful operation for vesico-vaginal fistula. NY Med Times. 1855;4:1-4. 3. Buck G. A fatty tumor occupying the scrotum. Med Record. 1871; 5:390-391. 4. Buck G. A case in which a fragment of a gutta percha bougie was discharged from the bladder after being broken up by Civiale’s lithotrite. NY Med Times. 1852;1:38-40. 5. Buck G. A flexible gum-elastic catheter escapes into the bladder. Med Record. 1869;4:529-530. 6. Buck G. Lithotomy and Lithotrity. New York: W. Wood; 1872:1-59. 7. Buck G. Contributions to Reparative Surgery. New York: D. Appleton; 1876:1-237. 8. Delavan DB. Address of Dr. D. Bryson Delavan delivered in part at the dinner given him by the New York Laryngological Society on his 86th birthday. Bull NY Acad Med. 1936;12:520. 9. Buck G. New treatment for fractures of the femur. Bull NY Acad Med. 1862;1:181-188. 10. Rogers BO. The first pre- and post-operative photographs of plastic and reconstructive surgery: contributions of Gurdon Buck (18071877). Aesthet Plast Surg. 1991;15:19-33. 11. Buck A. The Bucks of Wethersfield, Connecticut and the Families with Which They are Connected by Marriage: A Biographical and Genea-
UROLOGY 78 (3), 2011
22. 23.
25. 26.
27. 28.
29.
30. 31. 32. 33. 34.
logical Sketch. Roanoke, VA: Stone Printing and Manufacturing; 1909:13-25. Castle FA. Biographical sketch of Gurdon Buck, M.D. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1877;367-374. Francis SW. Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Living New York Surgeons. New York: J. Bradburn; 1866:153-162. Buck G. Closure of urethra from Injury of the perineum— urine Discharge by Artificial Opening above the Pubes—Natural Passage Restored by Operation. New York. J Med. 1844;3:201-203. Warren JC. Etherization; With Surgical Remarks. Boston: Ticknor; 1849:28-30. Buck G. Cancerous disease of bladder and prostate— death from hemorrhage of bladder. Bull NY Acad Med. 1857;2:357-358. Buck G. Case of croup in which tracheotomy was successfully employed. Transact N Y Acad Med. 1857;1:117-121. Buck G. Epithelioma of the larynx. NY Med J. 1865;1:226-228. Buck G. Polypoid growth; tracheotomy; thyroid and cricoid cartilages divided; growth removed: result successful; respiration perfect; voice good, though hoarse. Med Chir Trans. 1872;55:61-63. Buck G. Papillary growth; tracheotomy; larynx opened in median line; growth removed: result negative; case incomplete. Med Chir Trans. 1872;55:83-84. Buck G. Edematous laryngitis successfully treated by scarifications of the glottis and epiglottis. Transact Am Med Assoc. 1848;1:135-158. Mostofi S. Who’s Who in Orthopedics. New York: Springer, 2005: 46-47. Buck G. The knee-joint anchylosed at a right angle—restored nearly to a straight position after the excision of a wedge-shaped portion of bone, consisting of the patella, condyles and articular surface of the tibia. Am J Med Sci. 1845;10:277-284. Fowler RS. Interscapulo-thoracic amputation. Ann Surg. 1900;31: 199. Buck G. Excision of the elbow joint, in a case of suppuration and caries of the bones. N Y J Med Surg. 1840;3-4:330-338. Woodhull AA. Catalogue of the Surgical Section of the United States Army Medical Museum: Prepared under the Direction of the Surgeon General. Bethesda: Government Printing Office; 1866: 564-565. Buck G. A case of double hare-lip and cleft palate, successfully operated on. Med Record. 1866;1:3. Buck G. A case of congenital hypertrophy of the under-lip, successfully treated by surgical operations. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1871;1:171. Buck G. A case of plastic operation, performed for the closure of an opening into the right superior nasal fossa. Med Record. 1871;5:535. Progress of medical science: at home and abroad. BMJ. 1860;s4-1: 707. Buck G. Post-fascial abscess originating in the iliac fossa with a new method of treatment. NY J Med. 1857;2:147-163. Murray FW. The treatment of pulsating exophthalmos. Ann Surg. 1904;39:421-432. Peters GA. An essay on acupressure, with some reference to its application in the continuity of arteries. NY Med J. 1869;9:240-241. Mynter H. On the pathology of appendicitis. Transact Med Soc State NY. 1891;202-208.
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