Abstract: FRI-11
Sources of Funding: None

Introduction

The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, heralded some of the very first innovations in urology at the turn of the 20th century. Sarah Bernhardt was at the peak of her international reputation and was touring the U.S. when she became ill with obstructive pyohydronephrosis.

Methods

A review of the literature of Ms. Bernhardts life and illnesses was cross-referenced to surviving documents of the event from the Emanuel Libman Archives at the National Library of Medicine. Leo Buerger, the urologist who operated upon Ms. Bernhardt is even more apocryphal and difficult to pursue, though he was the Buerger of the Brown-Buerger cystoscope fame. Dr. Emanuel Libman proved to be the key player who actually kept hospital records recording the events of her Tuesday, April 17th 1917 surgery.

Results

Sarah Bernhardt is considered by many to be the first actress superstar of the modern era, bridging into the silent movie era. She may well have suffered from tuberculosis throughout her long life, but an injury to her leg resulted in an amputation, late in life and during her final U.S. tour she was often unwell. She became ill and was brought to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City in critical condition. She had a left pyohydronephrosis with an obstructing calculus. Cystoscopy and retrograde evacuation of pus was performed first on Saturday July 14th. Buerger records that a large amount of pus washed out from left kidney. She did not do well, though and by the evening of Tuesday, July 17th it was deemed her situation was critical enough to warrant emergent open surgery. He records, Incision was made into the kidney and six ounces of foul smelling pus obtained. Large irregular calculus in the pelvis, which was removed. We also have the records of her hospital vital signs which clearly show her post-operative improvement. With no available antibiotics it is almost miraculous that she survived. She adopted Buergers only daughter, Yvonne as her godmother and became close to Germaine Schnitzer, Buergers wife.

Conclusions

Of the five attending physicians who cared for Ms. Bernhardt, she kept in contact with both Buerger and Libman in her final years. She was a dynamo of activity working on another silent movie in her final year, dying on March 26, 1923 in Paris. Dr. Buergers life apparently fell to pieces following this surgery, becoming a footnote only in the history of urology.

Funding

None