Auguste Nélaton

Who was Auguste Nélaton?

Auguste Nélaton was a French physician and surgeon.

Born in Paris, he began studying medicine in 1828 and graduated as an M.D. in 1836 with a thesis on the effects of tuberculosis on the bones. Three years later, he became an agrégé at the Hôpital Saint-Louis after his publication of On the treatment of breast tumors. From 1851 to 1867, he was a full professor, a post he abandoned when he became the personal surgeon of Napoleon III. Ramón Emeterio Betances—Puerto Rican pro-independence leader, surgeon and Légion d'honneur laureate—was one of Nélaton's prominent students.

In 1867, Nélaton was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In 1868, Nélaton was appointed Imperial Senator.

Nélaton worked in plastic surgery. He was the first to re-emphasize ligature of the two ends of arteries in hemorrhages first promoted by Ambroise Paré in the mid-16th century. He invented the porcelain-knobbed probe for locating bullets known as Nélaton's probe. The probe was used to locate a bullet in the ankle of Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1862. He also made noted contributions to pelvic and abdominal surgery.

Nélaton is also credited with the invention of the Nélaton catheter. A rubber catheter which was a great improvement and relieved patients of the distress of tour de maître. He is also associated with improvements in lithotomy.