Louis Ombrédanne

Louis Ombrédanne (1871-1956) was a French pediatric and plastic surgeon. In 1902 he became surgeon to Parisian hospitals, and from 1921 to 1940 he was head of pediatric surgery at the Hôpital Necker.

Ombrédanne primary field of research was development of new methods of surgery. In 1906 he was the first to describe the use of the pectoralis minor muscle for breast reconstruction following mastectomy. He also introduced transscrotal orchiopexy for surgical repair of an undescended testis.

In 1907 after two fatal anesthetic accidents, Ombrédanne created a prototype of an inhaler as a safe anesthetic device. It consisted of a tin container as reservoir which was fitted with felt to absorb ether, a graduated air inlet and a respiratory reserve chamber. This device was tested successfully on over 300 patients, and design modifications were later made. In 1929 Ombrédanne also provided an early description of malignant hyperthermia, which he described as pallor with hyperthermia in newborns during anesthesia. This condition was historically referred to as Ombrédanne syndrome.