Gurdon Buck | |
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Born | New York City, U.S. | May 4, 1807
Died | March 6, 1877 New York City, U.S. | (aged 69)
Alma mater | Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
Known for | Plastic surgery pioneer and incorporation of pre- and post-operative photography |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Surgeon |
Institutions | New York Hospital |
Signature | |
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Gurdon Buck (May 4, 1807 – March 6, 1877) was a pioneering military plastic surgeon during the Civil War. He is known for being the first doctor to incorporate pre- and post-operative photographs into his publications. Buck's fascia and Buck's extension are both named after him.
Buck graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1830 and interned at New York Hospital. He also studied in Paris, Berlin and Vienna. He was appointed visiting surgeon to the New York Hospital in 1837 which he held the rest of his life. He was also appointed to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
In 1845, Buck took the first clinical photograph and used an engraving of it in "The Knee Joint Anchylosed at a Right Angle". This was the first known published illustration of a medical photograph.[1]
Dr. Buck was a founding fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine in 1847.
He wrote Contributions to Reparative Surgery (New York, 1876) which is the first American plastic surgery textbook.
He is buried in the New York Marble Cemetery.