[Dimitrij Oscarovic Ott (1855-1929) "Ventroscopy" : His contribution to development of laparoscopy]

Dimitri Oscarovic Ott (1855-1929) can be justified in calling himself one of the true pioneers of laparoscopy and especially of natural orifices transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). As early as 1901 he performed abdominal examinations via a transvaginal access and called this procedure ventroscopy. The publication of his first results and a description of the method and equipment were released in 1902. He was one of the pioneers of present day laparoscopy in addition to Georg Kelling (1866-1945) and Hans Christian Jacobaeus (1879-1937).While Kelling published and presented his first results of animal trials in 1901 and 9 years later in 1910 Jacobaeus performed his first interventions on human beings, Ott had already used the new method developed by him in clinical practice since 1901. Through a single incision in the cul-de-sac and using a head lamp system similar to reflector lamps used by otolaryngologists, he inspected the abdominal cavity with the aid of a gynecological speculum. The patient was positioned in an extreme head-down position and for better lighting he used an additional light source which was connected to the speculum. Even today Prof. Ott is a legend in Russia and especially in St. Petersburg. He was director of the National Institute of Obstetrics and personal physician to Tsarina Aleksandra Fedorovna (1874-1918). He is regarded as the father of the Russian school of obstetrics and gynecology as well as founder of endoscopic surgery and laparoscopy in Russia.