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Historical Profiles

11-1-2013

Edoardo Bassini (1844-1924): father of modern-day hernia

surgery.
Wei Phin Tan, B.S.
Thomas Jefferson University

Harish Lavu, MD
Thomas Jefferson University

Ernest L. Rosato, MD
Thomas Jefferson University

Charles J. Yeo, MD
Thomas Jefferson University

Scott W. Cowan, MD
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Recommended Citation
Tan, B.S., Wei Phin; Lavu, MD, Harish; Rosato, MD, Ernest L.; Yeo, MD, Charles J.; and Cowan, MD,
Scott W., "Edoardo Bassini (1844-1924): father of modern-day hernia surgery." (2013).
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles. Paper 20.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/gibbonsocietyprofiles/20

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 Surgical Leaders
Edoardo Bassini (1844–1924): Father
of Modern-day Hernia Surgery
WEI PHIN TAN, B.S., HARISH LAVU, M.D., ERNEST L. ROSATO, M.D., CHARLES J. YEO, M.D.,
SCOTT W. COWAN, M.D.

From the Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

R scripture, it was Celsus who clinic. After his year-long recovery, Bassini was in-
A CCORDING TO OMAN
attempted the first inguinal hernia repair in his-
tory during the first century A.D. His attempts were
vited to serve as Porta’s second assistant, a position
that he held until 1874. In 1873, his mentor advised
unsuccessful and resulted in an early recurrence of the Bassini to visit the noted medical establishments of
hernia, which eventually led to the patient’s death.1 Europe. He traveled to Vienna to spend time in the
Over the next two millennia, little understanding was surgical clinic of Theodore Billroth, to Berlin where he
gained regarding the anatomy of the inguinal canal. It studied with Bernhard Langenbeck, to Munich where
was only in the last 100 years that major advance- he worked with Johann von Nussbaum, and finally to
ments in herniorrhaphy were established, thanks in London where he studied micro-organisms and their
large part to the work of Edoardo Bassini, who revo- role in postoperative sepsis with Joseph Lister and Sir
lutionized the surgical treatment of the inguinal hernia Thomas Spencer-Wells.2
with a technique which has become the basis of In 1874, Bassini returned to Pavia and brought back
modern-day herniorrhaphy. his newly acquired medical knowledge. He was made
Edoardo Bassini (Fig. 1) was born on April 14, 1844, Porta’s first assistant. After Porta’s death in 1875,
to a prosperous land-owning family in Pavia, Italy. He Bassini expected to be named his successor but was
studied medicine at the University of Pavia and grad- disappointed when instead the chair of surgery was
uated in 1866. At that time, there was great political awarded to Enrico Bottini. In 1877, Bassini returned
turmoil in Italy such that on graduation, Bassini post- to London to work with Sir Thomas Spencer-Wells.
poned his surgical training and enlisted in the indepen- Six months later, he was invited to teach clinical sur-
dent militia as a foot soldier with the hope of achieving gery at the University of Parma.1 Subsequently, he was
unity for his country. As a soldier, he participated in two named chief surgeon at the city hospital in Spezia. It
great battles. The first was in October 1866 when Italy was in Spezia that Bassini began to focus his interest
came to the aid of Prussia in the war against Austria.2
In 1867, Giuseppe Garibaldi led Bassini’s militia in an
attempt to seize Rome from the Papal forces. Hope-
lessly outnumbered, the militia was crushed. Bassini
sustained a bayonet injury to the right groin. After
suffering for a night on the battlefield where he was
wounded, he was taken prisoner and brought to a French
field hospital. Bassini’s wound became infected and
he began to develop high fevers and came very close
to death. However, his condition improved after he de-
veloped a fecal fistula, which ultimately took several
months to close.2
Bassini was discharged and transported back to
Pavia, where his fistula reopened and he came under
the care of his mentor, Luigi Porta, chief of the surgical

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Scott W. Cowan, FIG. 1. Portrait of Edoardo Bassini. Reprinted from Edoaro
M.D., Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, 1100 Bassini. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Available at: http://
Walnut Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107. E-mail: Scott. it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edoardo_Bassini.Gif. Accessed January
[email protected]. 29, 2012.

1131
1132 THE AMERICAN SURGEON November 2013 Vol. 79

FIG. 2. Plate from Bassini’s 1893 monograph on femoral hernia

repair. Reprinted from Rutkow IM. Edoardo Bassini: 1844–1924.
Hernia 1997;1:151–3.

on inguinal anatomy and the surgical treatment of her-

nias in this anatomic region. Bassini’s reputation grew
quickly. He was nominated for the chair of surgical
pathology at the University of Padua in 1882 and even- FIG. 3. Tomb of Edoardo Bassini in Pavia, ‘‘Cimitero Mon-
tually ascended to the professorship of clinical surgery umentale,’’ Italy. Reprinted from ‘‘Tomba di Edoardo Bassini’’
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.
at Padua in 1888.1 org/wiki/File:Tomba_di_Edoardo_Bassini_1.JPG. Accessed January
As chair of surgical pathology at the University of 29, 2012.
Padua, Bassini had free access to human cadavers. He
broadened his knowledge of the inguinal region, per-
forming repeated dissections on cadavers in the hopes at Genoa.3 In 1890, Bassini had expanded his case series
of understanding the underlying anatomy and devel- to encompass 262 herniorrhaphies in 216 patients
oping an effective technique to repair inguinal hernias. with a 98 per cent follow-up rate for up to 4½ years and
Bassini believed in extensive dissection of the sper- no reported deaths among the 251 nonstrangulated
matic cord, dissection of the hernia sac with high li- repairs. With only four cases lost to follow-up and
gation, and vigorous reconstruction of the floor of the seven recurrences, Bassini recorded a success rate of
inguinal canal. His technique included incising the 97 per cent!1 His method proved superior to that of the
transversalis fascia from the internal inguinal ring to Billroth clinic, which had a mortality rate of 6 per cent
the pubic tubercle after dividing the cremasteric muscle and a recurrence rate of over 33 per cent. During the
and ligating the hernia sac. A three-layer fascial repair same year, he published his technique in the German
was performed to restore integrity to the inguinal floor literature, ‘‘Archiv für Klinische Chirurgie’’ (Langen-
and the inguinal canal. The medial tissues (internal beck’s Archives of Surgery), and his results were ac-
oblique muscle, transversus abdominis muscle, and cepted and lauded by the surgical community.3
transversalis fascia) were fixed to the shelving edge of Throughout his remaining career, Bassini expanded
the periosteum of the pubic tubercle and the inguinal on his initial understanding of the anatomy of the in-
ligament with interrupted sutures. guinal region. He made the distinction between direct
Bassini’s research ultimately resulted in the first suc- and indirect hernia defects and described the preper-
cessful inguinal hernia repair, which he performed on itoneal plane, which would became important in the
December 23, 1884.1 Using his newly developed clinical future development of preperitoneal mesh repair tech-
concepts, Bassini managed to perform 42 hernior- niques. The modern Bassini repair includes high liga-
rhaphies in 38 patients within the next 3 years and tion of the hernia sac and reconstruction of the inguinal
presented his findings to the Italian Society of Surgery floor by approximation of the conjoint tendon to the
No. 11 EDOARDO BASSINI, M.D.: FATHER OF HERNIA REPAIR SURGERY ? Tan et al. 1133

shelving edge of the inguinal ligament with interrupted ‘‘cure of the inguinal hernia’’ will surely be immortal-
suture (Fig. 2). This remains a useful repair, especially ized in the history of surgery.
when mesh repair would not be advisable as a result of
an increased risk of infection. REFERENCES
Bassini was professor of clinical surgery at the 1. Thomas AD, Rogers A. Edoardo Bassini and the wound that
University of Padua until 1919 when he retired to his inspires. World J Surg 2004;28:1060–2.
farm to pursue his hobby of horticulture. In 1924, 2. Rutkow IM. Edoardo Bassini: 1844–1924. Hernia 1997;1:
Bassini died at the age of 80 years and was buried in 151–3.
his family tomb in the ‘‘Cimitero Monumentale’’ of 3. Read RC. The centenary of Bassini’s contribution to inguinal
Pavia (Fig. 3). Bassini’s legacy for developing the herniorrhaphy. Am J Surg 1987;153:324–6.