Classic articles in colonic and rectal surgery. Johann von Mikulicz-Radecki 1850-1905.

Johann von Mikulicz-Radecki was born in Cernowicz, then a part of Austria, now Rumania, on May 16, 1850. He was educated at Herrmannstadt and earned his way through the University by giving piano lessons and playing the organ. He achieved the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Vienna in 1875 and became an assistant to Billroth. At the age of 32 he became the Director and Professor of Surgery at Krakow, Poland. While there he performed the first esophageal resection and introduced lateral pharyngotomy in excising malignant tumors of the tonsillar region. In 1887 he became Director of the Clinic and Professor of Surgery in Konigsburg. At the age of 40 (1890), he became Professor of Surgery at Breslau, a position which he held until his death. Professor Mikulicz was known for his work on many surgical subjects. His name has been used eponymously in varied conditions and applications--these include Mikulicz cells, disease, drain, line, mask, ointment, and at least ten operations. In 1902 he described his two-stage resection for tumors of the intestine, which was published one year later. He died in Breslau on June 14, 1905, of carcinoma of the stomach.