Thomas Dent Mutter, MD: early reparative surgeon.

Abstract

Thomas Dent Mutter (1811-1859) was one of the early American pioneers of plastic surgery. He studied under some of the great teachers in Europe during the early 19th century and returned to the United States as a professor of surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He was renowned for his operations on clubfoot, cleft lip and palate, congenital anomalies, and mutilating injuries. He is best known for the cervical flap that bears his name. His contributions include an endowment for a medical museum that bears his name to which he donated a large collection of his medical specimens. The Mutter Museum prospers to this day. His ideas and innovations have influenced many students of plastic surgery both during his lifetime and today.