Rosenman, Leonard D.

The Surgery of Pierre Franco

Only a few modern authors of surgical history in English have touched Franco. Only in Allbutt's wonderful little book do we find a generous account of Franco. Nicaise's Introduction provides the Reader with a biography of the author, who was a remote provincial surgeon, and a description of European Surgery as it was in his epoch. Nicaise did not limit himself to simple sketches or to a cursory review of the few extant items about Franco himself. He added a History of The College of Surgery after the 13th Century, and carried it until the Revolution of 1793. He notes with pride that his three Introductions and that written by Malgaigne in 1843 together are a nearly complete history of Surgery as it evolved in France.