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Dionisio Montón: a pioneer of modern anesthesia in Spain
International Congress Series 1242 (2002) 451 – 452
Dionisio Monto´n: a pioneer of modern anesthesia in Spain M.C. Unzueta a,*, C. Herva´s b, J.M.V. Landeira a a
Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital de Sant Pau, San Antonio Ma Claret 167, Barcelona 08025, Spain b Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Materno-Infantil de la Vall d’Hebro´n, Po Valle Hebro´n 119-129, Barcelona 08035, Spain
Abstract Modern anesthesia was introduced in Spain at the end of the 1940s. Sir Robert R. Macintosh exerted a considerable influence on the technical and political development of anesthesia in our country. There were two complementary ways in which this took place: Macintosh’s trip to Spain in 1946, and overseas postgraduates who returned to Spain to take up anesthetics posts after having been attached to Macintosh’s department. Among them, Dionisio Monto´n who spent the longest period in Oxford, and the sole postgraduate to work in an English hospital. Monto´n contributed to the development of modern anesthesia in Spain through his work at the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona. D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Anesthesia history; Modern anesthesia
Dionisio Monto´n (Barcelona 1916 – 1979) finished medicine in 1945 at the University of Barcelona. In September 1945, he joined the Surgery Department of Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona [1]. As was usual at this time in Spain, he was assigned to administer anaesthesia. The level of anaesthetics in our country was very low. Following the suggestion of his cousin, Dr. Josep Trueta, who since 1939 had been working at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Center and who was elected as chair of Orthopaedics in 1949, he decided to go to the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics (NDA) in Oxford for training. Oxford was the meeting centre for anaesthetists anxious to acquire fundamental scientific knowledge. Sir Robert R. Macintosh, who was appointed to the chair of Anesthesia in Oxford in 1936, was a renowned figure in the world of anesthesia.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-93-2919092; fax: +34-93-2919264.
0531-5131/02 D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 5 3 1 - 5 1 3 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 7 6 5 - 3
452
M.C. Unzueta et al. / International Congress Series 1242 (2002) 451–452
Monto´n arrived in Oxford in October 1946 [2]. He spent 6 months at the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics and undertook the Revision Course for the Diploma in Anaesthesia in March 1947. From March 1947 to September 1947, he worked in the Musgrove Park Hospital at Tauton as a resident anaesthetist where he acquired practical experience. In October 1947, he returned to Oxford where he remained for 6 months and once again took the Revision Course for the Diploma in Anaesthesia in March 1948. Throughout his life he remained in touch with Sir Robert R. Macintosh, and he frequently visited the NDA to update his knowledge [3]. In April 1948, he returned to Barcelona to accompany Sir Alexander Flemming on an official visit to Spain. He then joined the Sant Pau Hospital staff as an anaesthetist [1]. Dionisio Monto´n was one of Macintosh’s first Spanish disciples and one of the first Spanish anaesthetists to undergo training in one of the most important centres of the world. He contributed to the development of modern anesthesia in Spain in the 1940s. Among Monton’s contributions to anesthesia in Spain we should emphazise the introduction of:
Preoperative evaluation of the patient and postoperative care. Closed circuit mechanical ventilation. Rehabilitation of regional anesthetic techniques. Recognition of anesthesia as a medical speciality. Promotion of interest in and status of anesthesia. Excellent teaching, specially in the Anesthetic Department of Sant Pau Hospital, which in the 1950s became the most important teaching centre for anesthetics in Spain. He contributed to the founding of the Professional School of Anesthesia in 1965, where he became head of studies. He contributed to the establishment of a hierarchical structure within anesthesia in our country. He was a founding member of the Spanish Association of Anesthetics in 1953.
In 1965, he was elected vice-director of the Department of Anesthesia in the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, and from 1967 to 1973 he was its director. In 1969, he was elected Fellow of the Faculty of Anaesthetists in London.
References [1] Monton’s academic curriculum. Sant Pau’s historic archive. Barcelona. [2] R. Bryce-Smith, J.V. Mitchell, J. Parkhouse, The Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics. Oxford 1937 – 1962, Universitary Press, Oxford, 1963, pp. 109 – 110. [3] 1961 Macintosh’s travel diary. CMAC:PP/RRM/C. Contemporary Medical Archives Centre. The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London, England.
Dionisio Monto´n: a pioneer of modern anesthesia in Spain M.C. Unzueta a,*, C. Herva´s b, J.M.V. Landeira a a
Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital de Sant Pau, San Antonio Ma Claret 167, Barcelona 08025, Spain b Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Materno-Infantil de la Vall d’Hebro´n, Po Valle Hebro´n 119-129, Barcelona 08035, Spain
Abstract Modern anesthesia was introduced in Spain at the end of the 1940s. Sir Robert R. Macintosh exerted a considerable influence on the technical and political development of anesthesia in our country. There were two complementary ways in which this took place: Macintosh’s trip to Spain in 1946, and overseas postgraduates who returned to Spain to take up anesthetics posts after having been attached to Macintosh’s department. Among them, Dionisio Monto´n who spent the longest period in Oxford, and the sole postgraduate to work in an English hospital. Monto´n contributed to the development of modern anesthesia in Spain through his work at the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona. D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Anesthesia history; Modern anesthesia
Dionisio Monto´n (Barcelona 1916 – 1979) finished medicine in 1945 at the University of Barcelona. In September 1945, he joined the Surgery Department of Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona [1]. As was usual at this time in Spain, he was assigned to administer anaesthesia. The level of anaesthetics in our country was very low. Following the suggestion of his cousin, Dr. Josep Trueta, who since 1939 had been working at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Center and who was elected as chair of Orthopaedics in 1949, he decided to go to the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics (NDA) in Oxford for training. Oxford was the meeting centre for anaesthetists anxious to acquire fundamental scientific knowledge. Sir Robert R. Macintosh, who was appointed to the chair of Anesthesia in Oxford in 1936, was a renowned figure in the world of anesthesia.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-93-2919092; fax: +34-93-2919264.
0531-5131/02 D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 5 3 1 - 5 1 3 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 7 6 5 - 3
452
M.C. Unzueta et al. / International Congress Series 1242 (2002) 451–452
Monto´n arrived in Oxford in October 1946 [2]. He spent 6 months at the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics and undertook the Revision Course for the Diploma in Anaesthesia in March 1947. From March 1947 to September 1947, he worked in the Musgrove Park Hospital at Tauton as a resident anaesthetist where he acquired practical experience. In October 1947, he returned to Oxford where he remained for 6 months and once again took the Revision Course for the Diploma in Anaesthesia in March 1948. Throughout his life he remained in touch with Sir Robert R. Macintosh, and he frequently visited the NDA to update his knowledge [3]. In April 1948, he returned to Barcelona to accompany Sir Alexander Flemming on an official visit to Spain. He then joined the Sant Pau Hospital staff as an anaesthetist [1]. Dionisio Monto´n was one of Macintosh’s first Spanish disciples and one of the first Spanish anaesthetists to undergo training in one of the most important centres of the world. He contributed to the development of modern anesthesia in Spain in the 1940s. Among Monton’s contributions to anesthesia in Spain we should emphazise the introduction of:
Preoperative evaluation of the patient and postoperative care. Closed circuit mechanical ventilation. Rehabilitation of regional anesthetic techniques. Recognition of anesthesia as a medical speciality. Promotion of interest in and status of anesthesia. Excellent teaching, specially in the Anesthetic Department of Sant Pau Hospital, which in the 1950s became the most important teaching centre for anesthetics in Spain. He contributed to the founding of the Professional School of Anesthesia in 1965, where he became head of studies. He contributed to the establishment of a hierarchical structure within anesthesia in our country. He was a founding member of the Spanish Association of Anesthetics in 1953.
In 1965, he was elected vice-director of the Department of Anesthesia in the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, and from 1967 to 1973 he was its director. In 1969, he was elected Fellow of the Faculty of Anaesthetists in London.
References [1] Monton’s academic curriculum. Sant Pau’s historic archive. Barcelona. [2] R. Bryce-Smith, J.V. Mitchell, J. Parkhouse, The Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics. Oxford 1937 – 1962, Universitary Press, Oxford, 1963, pp. 109 – 110. [3] 1961 Macintosh’s travel diary. CMAC:PP/RRM/C. Contemporary Medical Archives Centre. The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London, England.