Medical Student Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Introduction: A pioneer in spine surgery, Dr. John Robert Cobb was a meticulous surgeon known for his remarkable contributions to scoliosis diagnosis and treatment. During his illustrious career, Dr. Cobb founded the first scoliosis clinic and developed the Cobb Retractor and Cobb Angle, which have become standards in spine care. In this unique historical analysis, we review the history of scoliosis diagnosis and treatment and examine the lasting impact of Dr. Cobb – the man behind the Angle.
Methods: We review pertinent historical, academic, and medical evidence, including Dr. Cobb’s own works, obituary, biographies, and relevant scientific articles. In addition, historical texts were used to extract a timeline of scoliosis diagnosis and treatment. A bibliometric analysis was performed to approximate the scholarly impact of Cobb’s published works.
Results: Nearly 3500 years prior to Dr. Cobb’s first scoliosis clinic, the Ancient Greeks depicted abnormal spinal curvature in sculptures of Alexander the Great. Centuries later, in 1934, Dr. Cobb was appointed to the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled, now known as the Hospital for Special Surgery. As a fellow, Cobb was faced with the unique task to design the first scoliosis clinic. A conscientious surgeon, he developed the Cobb Retractor to optimize periosteal dissections and minimize blood loss. He carefully analyzed his patients’ images to develop the Cobb Angle, which has become the standard radiographic measurement to assess coronal and sagittal alignment. His landmark work, “Outlines for the study of scoliosis” has been cited 1,222 times, and the topics “Cobb Angle” and “Cobb Retractor” have been utilized in >10,000 independent works.
Conclusion : Dr. John R. Cobb was a pioneer of spine surgery who established the first scoliosis clinic and developed many novel adjuncts to advance spine care, including the Cobb retractor and Cobb angle that remain bulwarks of spine surgery to present day.
