Lost and found: a 100-year-old educational neurosurgical film by Thierry de Martel, pioneer of French neurosurgery.

Abstract

Exchanges in medical practice are necessary for training. The use of movies for promoting medical practice was introduced in the late 19th century. The authors analyzed an unidentified movie titled Trepanation for Rolandic Zone Tumor (Trépanation pour tumeur de la zone rolandique) stored at the Établissement de Communication et de Production Audiovisuelle de la Défense of the French Ministry of Armed Forces. This silent black-and-white movie, lasting 15 minutes and depicting the removal of a meningioma, did not contain information or a legend. The surgical tools used were those developed by Thierry de Martel. The furniture and interior design shown in the film corresponded with the Vercingétorix Clinic that this surgeon had acquired in Paris. A publication from 1922 contained 14 pictures taken from the movie presented in this paper and referred to a movie directed in 1911 by Thierry de Martel. This is strong circumstantial evidence that the film was directed and the surgery was performed by Thierry de Martel at the Vercingétorix Clinic in Paris, France, in 1911 while using the technology of the Gaumont company. This is a contemporary testimony to what surgical practice was over a century ago, and it illustrates how movies were, and remain, a unique way to learn and teach medicine.