Earlier ties with Scottish college
I read with great interest the article ‘Tracing Malta’s ties to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’ by Jo Etienne Abela (December 16) and the letter ‘Malta’s ties with Scottish College’ by Carmel Lino Cutajar (December 29).
It is worth recording that the history of the Maltese connections with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh goes as far back as, at least, the early 19th century.
In 1834, Vincent Portelli became the first Maltese surgeon to obtain the Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons (LRCS) of Edinburgh.
Almost two decades later, Maltese physician Salvatore Luigi Pisani obtained the LRCS (Edin) on August 6, 1853, when the college also awarded him the diploma in midwifery.
Pisani graduated doctor of medicine and surgery (MD) at the Malta University in 1850. Proceeding to Scotland to further his studies at the University of Edinburgh, he became the first Maltese physician to graduate MD at that university in 1853.
Salvatore Luigi Pisani (1902)He came first in his course and was awarded the gold medal. He was also commended for his thesis On the Epidemics of Cholera in Malta and Gozo.
In Edinburgh, Pisani attended lectures given by prominent professors of the time – James Young Simpson in midwifery, Robert Christison in materia medica and JH Balfour in botany. He impressed Young Simpson so much that he remarked that Pisani “was an honour to his country and that Malta might well be proud of being the birthplace of Salvatore Luigi Pisani”.
Before returning to Malta, Pisani trained in the latest surgical techniques and medical practices in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Italy. On May 1, 1854, he became a member of the prestigious German Medical Society in Paris.
Having developed an impeccable reputation, Pisani was duly recognised both locally and internationally for his outstanding intellect, his extensive medical knowledge and experience and his great surgical skills.
In 1858, at barely 30 years of age, Pisani was appointed to the chairs of anatomy and histology (1858-76) and of midwifery and gynaecology (1858-69) at the University of Malta. In 1869, he became professor of surgery (1869-85).
On July 1, 1885, Pisani was appointed to the newly created position of chief government medical officer (CGMO), the highest ranked medical practitioner on the island.
When the Public Health Department was established in 1895, Pisani, in his capacity of CGMO, was appointed as its head. He continued in this role until his retirement in 1902.
Louis Borg Manché – San Ġwann
Principles which guide physicians in pregnancies
In her hysterical reaction to my letter of January 7, Isabel Stabile (January 12) resorts to mockery and deceit. She twists my reference to what was said in the short five-minute video of neonatologist Kendra Kolb [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TmomK2RB2A&list=PLRCroccSjXWRos6E6HjIqHHd_kgm7oYrF&index=33] that I had referred to in my letter. Had she viewed the clear exposition in this video, she would know exactly what I was referring to.
I had referred to an emergency preterm delivery at the gestation stage of 22 to 24 weeks of life, when the birth canal is not ready for the child’s delivery.
It is obvious that, under normal circumstances, a vaginal delivery is safer than a caesarean section. However, even at the late stages of a pregnancy, caesarean sections are carried out when the chance of a vaginal delivery is fraught with danger for both the mother and the child.
The reality is that, in Malta, the medical ethos guiding the treatment of pregnant women in distress is for doctors to do their utmost to save both the mother and the child.
The pregnancy, when possible, is prolonged as much as possible to allow the child to survive without placing the life of the mother in danger.
Kolb ends her exposition by saying: “Physicians have an ethical duty to deliver expert care, for both patients, the mother and the child. A mother’s life is always of paramount importance but abortion is never medically necessary to protect her life or health.”
This is the principle that guides our physicians in Malta.
Klaus Vella Bardon – Balzan
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