The first Russian manual on pediatric surgery and its author Dmitry Е. Gorokhov

The paper examines the background to the creation and contents of the first Russian manual on pediatric surgery, as well as key moments in the biography and work of Dmitry E. Gorokhov. The introduction briefly outlines the history of the creation of the first manuals in surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics in Russia. Data on the first foreign guidelines related to pediatric surgery are also presented. The first section of the article reveals the contents of the Russian manual on pediatric surgery, compiled on the basis of long-term reports of the Surgical Department of the Moscow Sofia Hospital and articles by Dmitry E. Gorokhov. It contains the author’s prefaces to each of the three parts and reviews on the author’s published books from medical publications. The structure of Dmitry E. Gorokhov’s manual differs from similar modern books guided by the nosology principle. Based on his personal experience, the author describes the treatment of children with pathologies for which they were admitted to the department or surgery in other hospitals. The manual contains many clinical cases presented with detail rarely seen in our time. The second section of the article characterizes Dmitry E. Gorokhov’s personality, his professional biography and public activities, based on research of archival documents conducted by his grand-nephew, Professor Vitaly Gorokhov. It demonstrates the breadth and diversity of Gorokhov’s scientific interests, his successful combination of practice and research activities with teaching. Dmitry E. Gorokhov authored 215 papers, 60 of which are focused on pediatric surgery, while the rest discuss the problems of rural medicine, gynecology, general surgery, and the combat against infant mortality. He taught a course on pediatric surgery to students at the Sofia Hospital and to doctors at refresher courses at the Moscow University. Dmitry E. Gorokhov was a member of more than 20 commissions under various medical communities. His most fruitful work was as chairman of the commission to combat infant mortality. Published in 1910–1916, the manual by Dmitry E. Gorokhov is currently a bibliographic rarity, so in 2019 it was published in a reprint version, accessible to a wide range of readers. Considering the importance of Dmitry E. Gorokhov’s work for the development of Pediatric Surgery as a specialty, the Russian Association of Pediatric Surgeons launched a fundraising campaign to erect a beautiful monument at the Vagankovo Cemetery, unveiled during the Congress of Pediatric Surgeons of Russia on October 22, 2013.