biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1771–1830)
|
| biography:
| Surgeon, born in Rockbridge Co, Virginia, USA. He attended medical lectures at the University of Edinburgh (1793–4) before returning to Danville, KY (1795) where he became known as the best surgeon W of Philadelphia. Often regarded as the ‘father of abdominal surgery’, he never got a medical degree. At his office in 1809, he successfully removed a 20-pound tumorous ovary without incurring peritoneal infection. His most famous patient was James K Polk, in whose pre-presidential abdomen he removed bladder stones and stitched up a hernia. He gave the ground for the Danville Episcopal Church, gave free medical service to those who could not pay, and was a founder and trustee of Centre College, Danville, KY. |
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