RESUMO
Dr. Estela Melman (1939-present), Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, the American British Cowdray Medical Center, Mexico, is an influential pioneer who has shaped the scope and practice of pediatric anesthesia in Mexico and throughout the world. Her early work to reintroduce neural blockade into routine pediatric anesthetic care, particularly the caudal approach to the epidural space, helped to transform current anesthesia practice. Based on a series of interviews held with Dr. Melman between 2016 and 2017, this article reviews the remarkable career of a pioneering pediatric anesthesiologist.
Assuntos
Anestesiologistas/história , Anestesiologia/história , Pediatria/história , Criança , Feminino , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Hospitais , Humanos , México , Bloqueio Nervoso/históriaRESUMO
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: August Karl Gustav Bier introduced two important techniques in regional block: intravenous regional block and subarachnoid block, widely used nowadays. Since the first one celebrates its 100th anniversary and the second its 110th anniversary, it is only fair that we pay homage to this extraordinary physician who created them. CONTENTS: This report describes his family, school, academic course, and medical residency data, professional and university activities, personality, retirement, and death of A. K. G. Bier. It describes his countless contributions to Medicine and to Anesthesiology in particular. It discusses his research on intravenous regional block, many of them still valid nowadays or not completely explained. It mentions his initial studies and the controversies on his role in the creation of spinal block. It tells the experiences he had in both World Wars. It also mentions the great contributions of Bier to culture, sports, physical education and, especially, to ecology when he created the famous Sauen Forest. Finally, the well deserved honors he received in his home country and in other countries are mentioned. CONCLUSIONS: A. K. G. Bier created and introduced two notable and still current methods of regional blocks in Anesthesiology and was a great defender of the preservation of the environment. Therefore, since this year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of intravenous regional block, his biography deserves to be told as a tribute to this important German physician.