Erich Mühe (23 May 1938 – 20 November 2005) was a German surgeon known for performing the first

laparoscopic Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or human pelvis, pelvis using small Surgical incision, incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few ...

cholecystectomy Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. In 2011, cholecystectomy was the eighth most common operating room procedure performed i ...

in 1985.

Biography

Erich Mühe completed medical school in 1966 and finished his surgical training at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1973. He moved to

Böblingen Böblingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Bö ...

in 1982 to take a position as the head of surgery in a local hospital.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Inspired by Kurt Semm's pioneering use of

laparoscopy Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

, a minimally invasive surgical technique, Mühe designed his own surgical laparoscope, which he called the "Galloscope", in 1984. He first used it to remove a gallbladder (in a procedure known as

) on September 12, 1985, marking the world's first laparoscopic cholecystectomy. He first presented his work in April 1986 at the Congress of the German Society of Surgery, after performing 94 successful surgeries using his technique. He gave two further lectures on his technique in 1986 and 1987, but his surgical colleagues disapproved of the technique, regarding it as dangerous and describing it as "

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

surgery". In 1987, when one of Mühe's patients died from complications related to the surgery, Mühe faced charges of manslaughter. He was cleared of the charges in 1990, by which time laparoscopic cholecystectomy was being performed widely across North America; Mühe was only recognised years later as the first to perform the surgery. The achievement has also been credited to two French surgeons: Phillipe Mouret, who first performed the surgery in 1987; and Francois Dubois, who did the same in 1988. In 1992, the German Society of Surgery—which had initially rejected Mühe's work—awarded him its top honour, the Anniversary Award. The following year, the president of the society's 1986 congress apologised to Mühe, describing his work as "without a doubt one of the greatest original achievements of German medicine in recent history". The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons formally recognised Mühe as the first surgeon to perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhe, Erich 1938 births 2005 deaths University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni 20th-century German surgeons