Jacques Mathieu Delpech was a French 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...

 born in Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. He earned his doctorate from the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

 in 1801 and spent the next several years as a teacher of anatomy

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 in Toulouse. In 1812 be became a surgeon at Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Eloi in Montpellier

Montpellier

-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

, where he remained until his death in 1832.

Delpech is best known for his work in orthopedics

Orthopedics

Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...

, and he established a clinic for orthopaedic diseases at Saint-Eloi. There he advocated a surgical process known as "tenotomy

Tenotomy

A tenotomy is a surgical act which involves the division of a tendon.When it involves the Achilles tendon, it is called a "Achillotenotomy".It has been used in the treatment of cerebral palsy.It has also been used for hammer toe....

" to correct contracture

Contracture

A muscle contracture is a permanent shortening of a muscle or joint.. It is usually in response to prolonged hypertonic spasticity in a concentrated muscle area, such as is seen in the tightest muscles of people with conditions like spastic cerebral palsy....

 abnormalities of the extremities. He was also a pioneer concerning skin grafting and rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty , also nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose, by resolving nasal trauma , congenital defect, respiratory impediment, and a failed primary rhinoplasty...

, and is credited for documenting the first rhinoplastic operation in France.

Delpech died when he was shot by a patient on October 28, 1832.

Partial bibliography

• Réflexions et observations anatomico-chirurgicales sur l’anévrisme (1809), (Translation of Antonio Scarpa
  Antonio Scarpa
  Antonio Scarpa was an Italian anatomist and professor.-Biography:Antonio was born to an impoverished family in the frazione of Lorenzaga, Motta di Livenza, Veneto. An uncle, who was a member of the priesthood, gave him instruction until the age of 15, when he passed the entrance exam for the...
  
  's (1752-1832) work on aneurysm
  Aneurysm
  An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
  
  s).
• Précis des maladies chirurgicales, (1815)
• Considérations sur la difformité appelée pied-bots, (1823)
• Chirurgie clinique de Montpellier, (1823-28) (two volumes)
• Orthomorphie, (1829)
• Mémorial des hôpitaux du Midi, (1831)

External links

• Jacques Delpech @ Who Named It
  Who Named It
  Who Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...