Hunter was so impressed that from that day on he referred to the lacunar ligament as “Gimbernat’s ligament" and adopted his surgical technique. Gimbernat also showed Hunter his studies and technique to repair diaphragmatic hernias.
Manuel Gimbernat participated in the creation of the Spanish Royal School of Surgery, became a professor of surgery and orthopedics, and in 1789 he was named First Royal Surgeon and president of all the surgical schools in Spain.
In 1793, Gimbernat published his “ Nuevo Método de Operar en la Hernia Crural” dedicated to King Charles IV, which was translated as “A New Method of Operating for the Femoral Hernia”, into English in 1795.
In 1803 the Spanish king Carlos IV commissioned Don Francisco Javier de Balmis i Berenguer (1753 – 1819), a Spanish physician, to find a solution to the smallpox problem in the Spanish colonies in South America. While planning what was later to be known as the “Royal Philanthropic Vaccine Expedition” Balmis received critical contributions from Don Manuel Gimbernat.
All of his titles and positions were removed by King Fernando VII because Gimbernat was a supporter of Napoleon during his invasion of Spain in 1808. Sick, poor, blind, and with ailing mental faculties, Don Manuel Gimbernat died in Madrid on November 17, 1816.
Gimbernat was also a pioneer in ophthalmology, vascular surgery and urology. As for his incredible anatomical dissection capabilities, Gimbernat often said “mi autor más favorito es el cadaver humano" (my favorite author is the human body”
Personal note: My thanks to Dr. José Luis Bueno-López for his correction of the name of Gimbernat: "Although don Antonio de Gimbernat y Arbós was born in a town in Catalonia, Spain, he never wrote his name nor his contemporaries did, with the particle 'i' between his two family names (in the manner of the Catalan language) but with particle 'y' in the way of the Spanish language". There are many articles where Gimbernat's last name is written "Gimbernat i Arbos" (see link #3 on the Source section) which according to Dr. Bueno-López is incorrect. To read the article co-authored by Dr. Bueno-López on Gimbernat (#6 in our Sources section) click here.
Sources: 1. “Manuel Antonio de Gimbernat y Arbós. 1734-1816” Trauma (2012) 23: (1) 2. ” Gimbernat y Arbós, Antonio de (1734-1816) Loukas M et al World J Surg 2007; 31: 855-7 3. “Epónimos médicos: Ligamento de Gimbernat” Febrer JLF 1999 (Link) 4. “Antonio de Gimbernat (1734- 1816). Anatomist and surgeon” Puig-LaCalle J, Mart?-Pujol R. Arch Surg 1995; 130: 1017- 20 5. “Antonio de Gimbernat, 1734-1816” Matheson NM. Proc R Soc Med 1949; 42: 407-10. 6. "Antonio Gimbernat y Arbós: An Anatomist-surgeon of the Enlightenment (In the 220th Anniversary of his ‘‘A New Method of Operating the Crural Hernia’" Arraez-Aybar LA, Bueno-Lopez JL. Clin Anat (2013) 26:800–809
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