1881

Billroth performs historic distal gastrectomy, a turning point in surgery because his patient survived the joining, with at least 50 stitches, of the stomach (6cm. diameter) and the duodenum (3cm. diameter) (intestinal anastomosis) for 10 days, at which point healthy tissue growth makes the sutures unnecessary, proving a successful intestinal reconnection was possible: “This was an achievement that literally pushed back the frontier of surgery.” The patient, Frau Thérèse Heller, died from metastasis three months after the operation, as Billroth’s small incision did not expose the spread of cancer around the tumor he removed (Van de Laar, ch 26).