John Andree (surgeon) facts for kids
John Andree, junior was an English surgeon who was active around the year 1790. He is remembered for performing an important surgery that helped a young boy breathe again.
Early Life and Career
John Andree, junior, was born around 1740. His father was also a doctor, named Dr. John Andree, senior. John junior learned his medical skills by training with Mr. Grindall, a top surgeon at the London Hospital.
By 1766, John Andree was teaching anatomy in London. He also worked as a surgeon at the Magdalen Hospital. Later, he became a surgeon at the Finsbury Dispensary in 1781. In 1784, he started working at the St. Clement Danes workhouse, helping people there. Around 1798, he earned a medical degree, though we don't know from which university. He practiced medicine in Hertford for some years before returning to London. He lived until after 1819.
A Groundbreaking Surgery
Even though John Andree wasn't connected to a very large hospital, he made an important mark in medical history. In February 1782, he successfully performed a special operation called a tracheotomy. This surgery helps someone breathe when their windpipe is blocked.
The patient was a five-year-old boy suffering from a serious condition called croup of the larynx. Croup makes it hard to breathe because the voice box and windpipe swell up. John Andree's operation was a success, and the boy made a full recovery! While some say a similar operation might have been done earlier, Andree's case was the first to get a lot of attention from other doctors.
How the Operation Worked
John Andree's method was quite simple but effective. Instead of cutting through the rings of cartilage in the windpipe, he made two small punctures in the soft membrane between them. He didn't even need to insert a breathing tube. This successful surgery showed that a tracheotomy could save lives. Later, other famous surgeons like Sir Astley Cooper and doctors Bretonneau and Trousseau also performed and improved this important procedure.
Published Works
John Andree also wrote several books, mostly about surgical topics. These books shared his knowledge and experiences with other medical professionals of his time.
- On a Case of Suppression of Urine, Medical Observations and Enquiries, vol. V, 1776
- Essay on Gonorrhœa, London, 1777
- Account of an Elastic Trochar, Constructed on a New Principle, for Tapping the Hydrocele, or Watery Rupture, London, 1781
- Considerations on Bilious Diseases, Hertford, 1788; second edition, London, 1790
- Cases and Observations [in Surgery], London, 1799
