Antonin Poncet

PONCET, Antonin (1849–1913), one of the most prominent French surgeons of the 19th century. He received his medical education in Lyon. In 1874, he defended his doctoral dissertation; subsequently, he was, in succession: assistant to Professor Desgranges,

chief surgeon (chirurgien major) of the hospital,

He worked extensively on normal and pathological histology under Cornil and Ranvier, traveling for scientific purposes through Germany, Austria, and the USA. He studied the antiseptic method under Lister himself in London. Together with his teacher Ollier, he laid the foundation for the Lyon school of surgeons, from which many major scientists emerged (Leriche, etc.). As a practical surgeon, he is known for: 1) the introduction of the method of wide operative exposure of a pathological focus (la chirurgie a ciel ouvert), 2) the introduction of the method of suprapubic cystostomy for prostate hypertrophy, 3) perineal urethral fistula, 4) the development of thyroid surgery, 5) the popularization of the method of early operation for acute appendicitis, 6) the proposal of a dermo-epidermal method of skin grafting three years before Thiersch (Lyon medical, 1871, No. 22, 23), 7) an original technique for tendon operations, 8) the introduction of heteroplastic bone grafting, 9) and finally, the proposal and initiation of the practice of treating surgical tuberculosis with sunlight, which, as is well known, subsequently found the widest application.

From 1892, a turning point occurred for Poncet—from a courageous, active operating surgeon, he became a surgeon-thinker and occupied himself only with questions of general surgical pathology. The result of the works of this period is the doctrine of tuberculous rheumatism and inflammatory tuberculosis. It is primarily upon this that Poncet's fame is based.

He was a man of a bright, original mind, indomitable optimism, and broad scientific scope, a humane physician, and a favorite of the Lyon poor.

Of Poncet's numerous printed works, besides the journal articles mentioned above, the following, which were published as separate editions, have retained their significance to the present time: "Traite clinique de l'actinomycose humaine. Pseudoactinomycose" (P., 1898); "Traite de la cystostomie sus-pubienne" (P., 1899); "Le rhumatisme tuberculeux" (together with R. Leriche, P., 1909); "La tuberculose inflammatoire" (together with R. Leriche, P., 1912).