Neurosurgical Developments of Thierry De Martel (1875–1940), French Neurosurgery Pioneer, During World Wars I and II

Introduction: Thierry de Martel, is renowned as the French neurosurgery pioneer for the developments he undertook by providing his surgical skills during World Wars I and II. He developed various neurosurgical tools, and introduced into France techniques he learned in the United States and by North American surgeons such as Harvey Cushing. In this historical analysis of war surgery, we analyze how the neurosurgical experience acquired on the battlefield led de Martel to improve the management of cranioencephalic war injuries and how this influenced our field today.

Methods: Texts and archives of public domain from the National Library of France and the Bibliothèque Numérique Medica were consulted.

Results: Following France’s entry into World War I, Thierry de Martel served on the front line. After being wounded, his patriotism drove him to provide his surgical skills at the service of France. In 1917, he published with French neurologist Charles Chatelin, a book which was later translated into English in 1918 (“Wounds of the Skull and Brain; Their Clinical Forms and Medical and Surgical Treatment”), as it was considered the most important book ever written on war neurology at the time. Between the World Wars, de Martel undertook several developments for neurosurgery in France alongside neurologists Joseph Babinski and Clovis Vincent. He updated his work based on his own treated cases. He presented his new approach in (“The treatment of skull injuries during military operations”) in January 1940, and published his results in April 1940 in (“Work Plan on the Treatment of Cranio-Cerebral Wounds of War”), intended for battlefield surgeons.

Conclusion : Thierry de Martel played a central role in establishing modern neurosurgery in France. His patriotism led him to improve the management of wartime cranioencephalic injuries using his own experience acquired during World Wars I and II.