- René Leriche
René Leriche (1870 - 1955) was a famous French surgeon.
Eponymous terms
René Leriche gave his name to two syndromes:
*Leriche's syndrome -Impotence and buttock claudication and absent pulses in the groin and legs due to saddle embolus or atherosclerosis at the aortic bifurcation.
* Sudek-Leriche syndrome - Aseptic necrosis of bone following injury (=Sudek atrophy )Career
Born in
Roanne the son of alawyer Leriche began his career inLyon . In 1924 he was appointed Professor of Surgery at theUniversity of Strasbourg . In 1927 he was made an honorary Fellow of theRoyal College of Surgeons of England . He was the first surgeon to be made Professeur auCollège de France .He was a technically gifted surgeon and had flair for teaching. This attracted students to him - many of whom became renowned in their own right. He emphasised the importance of regarding the patient as a whole - the holistic approach.
He devised a surgical procedure, the sympathectomy, to increase blood flow within arteries.
In 1958, a French postage stamp was issued with his name and portrait on it.
Personality
Leriche was a flamboyant character who enjoyed
French cuisine and fine wine. He had a fine collection of art (one of his patients was Matisse). He was an excellent public speaker who never needed notes.References
*B.G. Firkin & J.A.Whitworth (1987). "Dictionary of Medical Eponyms". Parthenon Publishing. ISBN 1-85070-333-7
*R. Leriche: De la résection du carrefour aortico-iliaque avec double sympathectomie lombaire pour thrombose artéritique la l’aorte: le syndrome de l’oblitération termino-aortique par artérite. La presse médicale, Paris, 1940, 48: 601-607.
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