British Surgeon Frederick Salmon (1796-1868) and His “Trans-Fixing Pins and Excision” Surgical Procedure for the “Rectum Prolapsus”

Frederick Salmon was born in Bath. From his early career, he was fond of surgery, mostly interested in proctology. He had been specialized in London at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. He was the founder of “The Infirmary for the Relief of the Poor Afflicted with Fistula and Other Disease of the Rectum,” and the writer of one of the most important surgical treatises, the “Practical Observations on Prolapsus of the Rectum.” In this book, Salmon described an innovative operation for procidentia, based on the principle “trans-fixing pins and excision.” Although his work was too significant for the era, he was almost completely neglected by historians, most probably due to his clash with his fellow surgeons, who had been considered by him as scientifically inadequate in anorectal diseases.