Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov (; 15 June 1921 – 1992) was a Russian physician, known for inventing the Ilizarov apparatus for lengthening limb bones and for his eponymous surgery. He was a Hero of Socialist Labor (1981), a winner of the Lenin Prize (1979), and a member of Russian Academy of Sciences (1991).

Life and work

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Ilizarov was born in the town of Qusar, Azerbaijan, (then part of Soviet Union) to a peasantry family of Mountain Jews. Ilizarovs originate from Derbent. He graduated from Derbent Medical Rabfac (an educational establishment set up to prepare workers and peasants for higher education) then from Crimea Medical School. In 1944 he was sent to a rural hospital in Kurgan Oblast in Siberia. In 1955 he became the head of Surgery Department of a hospital and a surgeon with the Air ambulance.

His residency was carried out in orthopedic surgery, during which he developed an "external fixator system". In 1961 he created the Kurgan Center of the Restorational Surgery and Orthopedy. he was the head of this center until 1991. It was said that the Center became the largest orthopedic center in the world.

Bone experiments

Ilizarov discovered that by carefully severing a bone without severing the periosteum around it, one could separate two halves of a bone slightly and fix them in place, and the bone would grow to fill the gap. He also discovered that bone regrows at a fairly uniform rate across people and circumstances.

These experiments led to the design of what is known as an Ilizarov apparatus, which holds a bone so severed in place, by virtue of a framework and pins through the bone, and separates halves of the bone by a tiny amount; by repeating this over time, at the rate of the bone's regrowth, it is possible to extend a bone by a desired amount.

This research was introduced to the western world by professor A. Bianchi-Maiocchi.

Later life and death

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Ilizarov made a trip to the United States in the early 1990s to discuss his work, which was still largely unknown there. He died in 1992, at the age of 71.

References

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• Ilizarov.com English-language portal
• Ilizarov.org.uk
• Biography
• Biography
• Biography

Russian physicians | Surgeons | 1921 births | 1992 deaths | Heroes of Socialist Labor