The Stammering Surgeon
About Johannes Mulder (1769-1810)
Johannes Mulder (1769-1810) was born in Franeker and studied there. He also studied in Leiden. Afterwards, he became professor of medicine in Franeker. On twenty-first July 1798, Mulder performs a leg amputation on an eighteen-year-old girl from Dronrijp; Gelske Wierts. He removes the leg entirely from the hip joint. Mulder is the first doctor whose patient survives this operation. Gelske recovers remarkably quickly. Later she marries and has five children. Mulder wants to write a scientific article about the operation. But it never comes to fruition. In 1807 he becomes professor in Groningen. Three years later he dies at the age of forty-one as a result of a failed jaw operation.
The Leg Amputation in Dronrijp – Recollection of a Village Doctor (1822)
17 February 1822
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Gelske Awaited a Dreadful Death
I had already seen that I could not save the leg. But now I also saw that a normal amputation was impossible. The bone was broken right through to the hip joint. The leg could not be cut off properly and gangrene would undoubtedly occur. Gelske awaited a dreadful death.
But suddenly my dark thoughts were illuminated, as if by a clear starlight! I had to have Professor Mulder from Franeker brought here! The thighbone had to be removed from the hip. This was an impossible operation. But if anyone could do it, it was him! In a quick letter I explained the situation and sent my carriage to Franeker. Shortly after dinner my coachman was already back with the professor. We got straight to work.
We were busy deep into the night. I was impressed by the great knowledge and skill with which Mulder performed the operation. And this admiration only increased afterwards. For Mulder had performed the operation so skilfully that within three weeks Gelske was able to walk about the street again—leaning on a crutch!
_Since then things have always gone well for Gelske. In the house she walks about without crutches. She runs her own household and she can easily climb a ladder. Gelske has a cheerful disposition. She is content and of a happy nature. She is married to Tjalling Paulus Tuinstra and last night she gave birth to her fifth child.
It is a marvel, what a healthy Frisian woman and a brilliant doctor are capable of together!