Carl Gussenbauer


Carl Gussenbauer was an Austrian surgeon.

Biography

Gussenbauer was a native of Obervellach. He received his medical doctorate in 1867 from the University of Vienna, and after graduation worked as an assistant to Theodor Billroth. Later on, he served as professor at the universities of Liège and Prague. In 1894 he returned to Vienna, where he succeeded Billroth as director of the second surgical university clinic.
Gussenbauer was a pioneer of modern pancreatic surgery. In 1882 he performed the first successful operation of a pancreatic cyst via the external drainage technique that he developed. Prior to Gussenbauer's method, attempts at pancreatic surgery yielded negative results. Gussenbauer's external drainage procedure represented the first safe and effective solution for pancreatic cysts, and was widely used until the 1950s.
Following Billroth's first successful laryngectomy on 31 December 1873, Gussenbauer created an external vocal prosthesis for the patient. It was a mechanism with a vibrating reed that was inserted into a fistula from a tracheostomy tube to the pharynx. It was reported that the patient spoke with an intelligible voice.

Principal works