Carl Gussenbauer was an Austrian surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

 who was a native of Obervellach

Obervellach

Obervellach is a municipality in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia in Austria. It is situated in the valley of the Möll river, on the southern slope of the Hohe Tauern mountain range...

. He received his medical doctorate from the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

 in 1867, and was later a professor in Liège, Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. After graduation he was an assistant to Theodor Billroth

Theodor Billroth

Christian Albert Theodor Billroth was a German-born Austrian surgeon and amateur musician....

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and in 1894 returned to Vienna and succeeded Billroth as director of the second surgical university clinic.

Gussenbauer was a pioneer of modern pancreatic

Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...

 surgery. In 1882 he performed the first successful operation of a pancreatic cyst

Cyst

A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division on the nearby tissue. It may contain air, fluids, or semi-solid material. A collection of pus is called an abscess, not a cyst. Once formed, a cyst could go away on its own or may have to be removed through surgery.- Locations :* Acne...

 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

Laryngectomy

Laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. The laryngectomee breathes through an opening in the neck, a stoma. This procedure is usually performed in cases of laryngeal cancer...

 on December 31, 1873, Gussenbauer created an external vocal prosthesis

Prosthesis

In medicine, a prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is an artificial device extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control...

 (artificial larynx

Larynx

The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...

) for the patient. It was a mechanism with a vibrating reed that was inserted into a fistula

Fistula

In medicine, a fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway between two epithelium-lined organs or vessels that normally do not connect. It is generally a disease condition, but a fistula may be surgically created for therapeutic reasons.-Locations:Fistulas can develop in various parts of the...

 from a tracheostomy tube to the pharynx

Pharynx

The human pharynx is the part of the throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and anterior to the esophagus and larynx. The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx , the oropharynx , and the laryngopharynx...

. It was reported that the patient spoke with an intelligible voice.

Principal works

• Die traumatischen Verletzungen (1880)
• Sephthämie, Pyohamie, und Pyo-Sephthämie (1882)
• Beitrag zur Extirpation von Beckenknochengeschwülsten (1891)

Associated eponyms

• Gussenbauer's suture: A figure-of-8 suture used in bowel surgery.
• Gussenbauer's clamp: A bar of metal for joining the fragments in ununited fracture. Dorland's Medical Dictionary  (1938)
• Gussenbauer's operation: The cutting of an esophageal stricture through an opening above the stricture. Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1938)