A Skin-Grafting and Iredectomy Scissors by Ferris
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A Skin-Grafting Scissors by Ferris
Dimensions
4.5
Circa
1880
Maker
Ferris & Co.
Country of manufacture
UK and Ireland
Description
A nicely cased pair of skin-grafting scissors by Ferris & Co, working in Bristol,England, C1870-1880s. They are sometimes referred to as “Reverdin Scissors”, after the Swiss doctor, Jacques-Louis Reverdin (1842- 1929), who pioneered skin grafting. He has been credited by some with having accomplished what was effectively the first organ transplant. His seminal work on skin grafting was published in 1869 and his pinch-graft technique is apparently still in use today.
The Phisick site indicates that these scissors were also used in iridectomies and , in fact, were first introduced for that procedure. Apparently in 1867, two years before Reverdin published his work on skin grafting: “Parisian instrument maker Mathieu illustrated a pair of pince-ciseaux for performing peripheral iridotomies with one hand. Their invention has been attributed to M. Adolphe Meyer.” As you can see, the Mathieu scissors are nearly identical to those that we are offering. It appears that in the UK and USA such scissors were used for skin grafting, as we find them in a number of catalogs under that title, including the 1889 Tiemann Armamentarium (p. 120). We have not been able to establish if they were also used for iridectomies as they were in France.
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Dealer information
M and R Gordon
Michael and Roberta Gordon have been dealing in medical and dental antiques for more than four decades. They have helped build a number of major private collections and have contributed to the holdings of many museums. They also deal in other scientific and technology related items, including calculating instruments, office machines, patent models and wine-related accessories such as corkscrews. ROBERTA GORDON IS A SKILLED RESTORER WHO CAN HELP YOU WITH ANY INSTRUMENTS AND CASES THAT NEED ATTENTION. Feel free to contact them for details at: [email protected] or 718-541-5974
