Haponiuk, Ireneusz

Skalski, Janusz

Kardiologia Polska

English

Jagiellonian Univeristy Repository

www.kardiologiapolska.plList do Redakcji/Letter to the Editor Kardiologia Polska2012; 70, 2: 204–205ISSN 0022–9032Address for correspondence:Ireneusz Haponiuk, MD, PhD, Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Mikołaj Kopernik Pomeranian Centre of Traumatology, ul. Nowe Ogrody 1–6,80–803 Gdańsk, Poland, tel/fax: +48 58 764 08 27, e-mail: ireneusz_haponiuk@poczta.onet.plCopyright © Polskie Towarzystwo KardiologiczneTetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a common eponym used inpaediatric cardiology to refer to the congenital heart defectdescribed by Etienne-Louis Arthur Fallot in 1888 in the Frenchjournal ‘Marseille Medical’ [1]. The term TOF was not popu-larised by professor Fallot himself, his name becoming iden-tified with this condition after Maude Abbott, the founder ofpaediatric cardiology, was probably the first to use the epo-nym in the English language. Before this, many other investi-gators gave valuable reports about pathologies with a similaranatomy prior to professor Fallot.The names of these investigators into tetralogy, despitethe great worth of their endeavours, never became synony-mous with the defect, The authors who are commonly listedas the clinicians and scientists who described congenital ven-tricular septal defects with overriding aorta, pulmonary ste-nosis and right ventricular hypertrophy before 1888 were:Niels Stensen (1671), Eduard Sandiford (1777), William Hun-ter (1784), J.P. Farre (1814), E. Gintrac, Thomas Bevill Pea-cock (1846) [2], and the lesser known Polish clinician OskarWidmann (1881) [3].We would like to point out that among the reports thatwere published before 1888, the date of Fallot’s report, is thenoteworthy contribution of the Polish professor of medicineOskar Widmann, who described and published in 1881 inthe Polish medical periodical ‘Medical Review’ his report ofcongenital malformation that is undoubtedly equal to the pre-sently diagnosed tetralogy. The TOF is now the fifth or sixthcommonest neonatal congenital cardiac pathology in the Cau-casian population, with today well-established techniques oftreatment, satisfactory results and prognoses.We would like to outline this valuable Polish contribu-tion to scientific progress in the field of clinical symptomsand pathology examinations of the congenital heart defectnow known as TOF, which is the eponym of pulmonary arte-ry stenosis, ventricular septal defect, rightward overriding aortaand right ventricular hypertrophy.Oskar Widmann was born in 1839 in Lvov, Poland. Afterfinishing his secondary school in St. Petersburg, he beganhis medical education at Vienna University in 1860, andcontinued his studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kra-kow. In 1866, he completed his doctoral thesis, while ke-eping an assistant position in the Chair of Physiology at theJagiellonian University. In 1867, he became an assistant ininternal medicine in the General Hospital in Lvov; he after-wards practiced in a psychiatric department, and in theDepartment of Therapy at the Medical University of Lvov.In 1870, he was honoured with a primarius position in theGeneral Hospital in Lvov, first as an assistant-professor, andfinally was made full-time professor in the Chair of InternalMedicine at the Medical University of Lvov in 1898. HeOskar Widmann, a significant Polish contributorto the investigation of the symptomsand pathology of tetralogy prior toEtienne−Louis Arthur FallotOskar Widmann, polski kardiolog, który wniósł istotny wkładw badania nad objawami i patologią zespołu czworaczegoprzed Etienne-Louisem Arthurem FallotemIreneusz Haponiuk1, Janusz H. Skalski21Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Mikołaj Kopernik Pomeranian Centre of Traumatology, Gdansk, Poland2Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Polandwww.kardiologiapolska.pl205Oskar Widmann, a significant Polish contributor to the investigation of the symptoms and pathology of tetralogy...became well-known for his numerous works in the field ofcardiovascular medicine, and in 1879 he published the firstPolish clinical cardiology handbook, one of the first of itskind anywhere in the world.The most valuable achievement of Oskar Widmann isthe case report published in 1881 entitled ‘A case of pulmo-nary artery stenosis’. This was a meticulous and precise de-scription of the symptoms and clinical course of the patholo-gy now known as TOF [3]. His report was published sevenyears prior to the original paper of Etienne-Louis Fallot, whichis commonly — although incorrectly — regarded as the firstdescription of the pathology. Widmann’s report was basedupon regular clinical status observation and controls of a boywho was his patient from 1873 for seven years, until dying asa teenager in 1880. The post mortem examination providedthe first established clinical diagnosis of right ventricular out-flow tract and pulmonary stenosis, with ventricular septaldefect. Moreover, in a very precise autopsy report, OskarWidmann was the first to describe an additional accompany-ing pathology: a double-chamber right ventricle, probably thefirst such report in world literature.Our intention is not to erase the eponym of TOF. But ifthere should be interest as to who might have provided thename for this popular cardiovascular pathology, regarding thehistoric facts and the understandable need to acknowledgePolish landmarks in the progress of world science, we stron-gly recommend Polish medical staff to remember the perso-nality of professor Oskar Widmann and his valuable contri-bution to investigating the pathology of TOF.Conflict of interest: none declaredReferences1. Fallot ELA. Contribution a l’anatomie pathologique de la mala-die bleu (cyanose cardiaque). Marseille Med, 1888; 25: 77–93,138–158.2. Evans WN. ‘Tetralogy of Fallot’ and Etienne-Louis Arthur Fallot.Pediatric Cardiol, 2008; 29: 637–640.3. Widmann O. A case of pulmonary artery stenosis. Med Rev,1881; 36.ERRATAW Suplemencie VII/2010 do „Kardiologii Polskiej” pt. „Wytyczne Europejskiego Towarzystwa Kardiologicznego doty-czące postępowania u chorych z migotaniem przedsionków” błędnie przetłumaczono zdanie na stronie S 550 (wiersz 1).Powinno ono brzmieć:„Udowodniono, że u pacjentów z niewydolnością serca i AF strategia utrzymania rytmu zatokowego nie jest korzystniejszaniż kontrola częstotliwości rytmu komór”.W Suplemencie V/2011 do „Kardiologii Polskiej” pt. „Wytyczne dotyczące diagnostyki i leczenia ostrych zespołówwieńcowych bez przetrwałego uniesienia odcinka ST” błędnie przetłumaczono zdanie na stronie S 252 (kolumna 2, wiersz 4od dołu). Powinno ono brzmieć:„Alternatywnym postępowaniem jest zastosowanie bezpośrednich inhibitorów trombiny (...)”.oraz zdania w tabeli na stronie S 253 i w tabeli na stronie S 259, które powinny brzmieć, odpowiednio:„Blokada aldosteronu poprzez stosowanie eplerenonu jest wskazana u chorych po MI leczonych inhibitorami ACEi b-adrenolitykami, z LVEF wynoszącą £ 35% i z cukrzycą lub z LVEF £ 35% i z niewydolnością serca, bez istotnej dysfunkcjinerek [stężenie kreatyniny w surowicy > 221 mmol/l (> 2,5 mg/dl) u mężczyzn i > 177 mmol/l (> 2,0 mg/dl) u kobiet]i hiperkaliemii”.i„Jeśli czynność LV jest upośledzona (LVEF £ 35%) i występuje cukrzyca oraz gdy czynność LV jest upośledzona (LVEF £ 35%)i występuje niewydolność serca, bez istotnej dysfunkcji nerek”.

Oskar Widmann, polski kardiolog, który wniósł istotny wkład w badania nad objawami i patologią zespołu czworaczego przed Etienne-Louisem Arthurem Fallotem

https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/165753/haponiuk_skalski_oskar_widmann_a_significant_polish_contributor_2012.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Oskar Widmann, polski kardiolog, który wniósł istotny wkład w badania nad objawami i patologią zespołu czworaczego przed Etienne-Louisem Arthurem Fallotem

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