Iginio Tansini (1855–1943): An Italian surgeon and an innovator between the 19th and the 20th centuries

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the figure of the Italian surgeon Iginio Tansini (1855–1943), who was full professor of surgery and director of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pavia (1903–1931). In that period, he modernized the School of Surgery founded by Antonio Scarpa (1752–1832) in the previous century; he introduced the experimental method in the discipline. One of his major contributions was an innovative technique of mastectomy followed by plastic reconstruction with myocutaneous flap. Tansini was a pioneer in oncology, supporting the importance of an early diagnosis based on a biopsy; he was also the first in Italy to practice a gastrectomy for stomach cancer with success in 1887.

Keywords

Iginio Tansini surgery oncology breast surgery history

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