John Putnam Batchelder, Jonathan Mason Warren, and the Contested History of American Nasal Reconstruction

Jonathan Mason Warren has been incorrectly credited as the first surgeon to perform a skinflap nasal reconstruction in America, because he was the first to publish about the operation. This has caused an unjustified overlooking of the actual achiever of this distinction: John Putnam Batchelder.This study assesses Warren's and Batchelder's competing claims, and their different reasons for promoting the procedure or not, and demonstrates their shared reliance on international progress.It is based on a systematic review of historical materials related to the two surgeons. It places nasal reconstruction in its international historical context as a controversial procedure to explain the actions and knowledge of the surgeons and their patients.The study uses archival research in manuscript resources, searchable digitized newspapers, and historical printed texts.These findings support Batchelder's claim.In declining to publish, Batchelder left the stage open for Warren to claim pioneering credit, which must be a warning to any modern surgical innovators.