Charles Willems (1859-1930): Belgian military and academic surgeon and first president of the International Society of Surgery.

Belgian surgeon Charles Willems (1859-1930) played a prominent role in the founding of the Société Internationale de Chirurgie (International Society of Surgery), of which he became the first president in 1902. He kept the office until 1929, when illness obliged him to discontinue. He had an important military career in the Balkan War but especially during World War I. He later became Professor of Surgery at the University of Liège. He produced numerous scientific articles on various surgical subjects and even started a journal that was the forerunner of the World Journal of Surgery. The International Society of Surgery owes a lot to its first president.

Rudolf Nissen (1896-1981)-perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Rudolf Nissen was one of the outstanding general surgeons of the last century. Between the years 1921 and 1933, he was the pupil and protégé of the famous surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch. He was nominated professor of surgery in 1930. Forced by the Nazi-Regime to resign his position, Nissen emigrated in 1933 first to Turkey and then in 1939 to the USA. Here, he held positions in hospitals at New York. Having been appointed to the Chair of Surgery at the University of Basle, Switzerland, he returned to Europe in 1952. Nissen was a critical prolific writer and excellent researcher, surgeon, and teacher. CONCLUSION: The first successful pneumectomy and lung lobectomy in man, as well as the description of surgical pathophysiology and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, including hiatus hernia, are considered to be his most important pioneer work.

In memoriam: Martin Allgöwer (1917-2007), Professor Dr med, Dres med hc mult, FACS (Hon), FRCS (Hon), ASA (Hon).

Martin Allgöwer had a prolific career as a skilled clinical surgeon, researcher, and organizer. He made a number of valuable contributions to surgical innovations and techniques, science, and literature. Early, he was recognized as a leader in surgery worldwide. The biography of Martin Allgöwer begins on May 5, 1917 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. He passed away on October 27, 2007, a Saturday morning, in Chur, Switzerland.

Heterotopic gastric mucosa of the esophagus: literature-review and proposal of a clinicopathologic classification.

The prevalence of heterotopic gastric mucosa (HGM) in the cervical esophagus is frequently underestimated. Tiny microscopic foci have to be distinguished from a macroscopically visible patch, also called "inlet patch." Symptoms as well as morphologic changes associated with HGM are regarded as a result of the damaging effect of acid, produced by parietal cells in the mostly fundic type of HGM. We herein review the literature and propose a new clinicopathologic classification of esophageal HGM: Most of the carriers of esophageal HGM are asymptomatic (HGM I). Some individuals with HGM in the esophagus complain of dysphagia, odynophagia, or "extraesophageal manifestations" (hoarseness and coughing), without further morphologic findings (HGM II). Still fewer patients are symptomatic due to morphologic changes, i.e., esophageal strictures, webs, or esophagotracheal fistula (HGM III). Malignant transformation via dysplasia (intraepithelial neoplasia, HGM IV) to cervical esophageal adenocarcinoma (HGM V) is exceedingly rare (only 24 reported cases). In contrast to Barrett's esophagus, HGM should not be regarded as a precancerous lesion. Symptoms are more likely to occur in patients with inlet patch, whereas malignant transformation and adenocarcinogenesis can also occur in microscopic HGM foci. Asymptomatic HGM requires neither specific therapy nor endoscopic surveillance. Only in symptomatic cases treatment, i.e., dilatation for (benign) strictures or acid suppression for reflux symptoms, can be recommended. Patients with low-grade dysplasia in HGM might be candidates for surveillance strategies, whereas in cases of high-grade dysplasia and invasive adenocarcinoma oncological treatment strategies must be employed.