Background
He was born in 1794 at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, son of Judge William and Elizabeth (Rhea) Barton, nephew of Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
John Rhea Barton
Edit ProfileEducation
After serving as an apprentice at the Pennsylvania Hospital while attending the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, he received his M. D. degree in 1818 at the age of twenty-four.
Career
From 1820 to 1822 he acted as surgeon to the Philadelphia Hospital, and in 1823 he was appointed on the surgical staff of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Here he was probably greatly stimulated in his work by the then senior member of the surgical staff, Philip Syng Physick.
On November 22, 1826, Barton performed a very remarkable and pioneer operation at this hospital on a case of ankylosis of the hipjoint. By a wedge-shaped incision into the femur he was not only able to straighten a badly placed bone, but also to make an artificial joint at the point of incision which remained useful and in good position for over five years. The operation was done, it is recorded, in seven minutes and "not one blood vessel had to be secured. " Barton was assisted by Drs. Hewson and Parrish. In 1837, he reported a similar case, although in his second operation he did not attempt to make an artificial joint.
In addition to these two important orthopedic procedures, Barton is also remembered on account of his description of fracture of the lower end of the radius, his bran dressings for fractures of the leg, and for "Barton's bandage, " to immobilize fractured jaws. He wired a fractured patella as early as 1834.
Only two important papers were published by him: "On the Treatment of Anchylosis, by the Formation of Artificial Joints, " North American Medical and Surgical Journal, 1827, III, 279-92, and "A New Treatment in a Case of Anchylosis, " American Journal of Medical Science, 1837, XXI, 332. He retired from practise in 1840 and died in Philadelphia on New Year's Day, 1871, in his seventy-seventh year.
Achievements
Connections
He married Susan (Ridgway) Barton.
