Jakob Nufer

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Jakob Nufer

fl. 1500

Swiss sow gelder who performed the first successful cesarean section on a living woman. When Nufer's wife went into labor, he sought the aid of a village midwife, then another, until the entire 13 midwives in Sigershaufen had been consulted. None could deliver the baby. In desperation, he decided to try. Experienced in genital surgery on pigs, he took a knife and opened her uterus, extracting the baby. His wife is reported to have recovered, bore additional children, and lived to age 77.

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