Vera Gedroits

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In early 1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Gedroits volunteered to go to the front with the Red Cross. In the first month of the war, she treated 1,255 patients, including over 100 patients with head wounds and 61 patients with abdominal wounds. Initially treatment was provided in tents covered in an insulating layer of clay, but by January 1905, Gedroits was accompanying the horse-drawn ambulances which brought the wounded to the hospital to perform triage, before entering the operating theater. She was appointed chief surgeon of the hospital train, which consisted of an operating car and five patient cars. The operating car was a specially equipped surgical unit, supplied by the Russian nobility to allow care to the wounded to be performed on the front lines. This put the medical personnel at grave risk, as unless there were wounded personnel in ambulances, tents or surgical trains, their neutrality was not recognized. Though many Russian, as well as French and British, military surgeons had discarded the idea of treating abdominal wounds, Gedroits recognized that early intervention was key. Standard treatment at the time required the patient to be placed in a semi-reclining position so that the wound could…Citește mai mult

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Provincial work Gedroits decided in 1905 to disentangle herself from her marriage and was divorced on 22 December 1905. Her maiden name and her noble title were restored on 1 February 1907. At the Maltsov factory, she continued to see many chronic diseases and began cataloguing the cases of bone tuberculosis, infection, and inguinal hernia for future scientific study. She recommended that special institutions designed to treat chronic patients be established. Gedroits published 17 scientific papers between 1902 and 1909. In addition to hernias and industrial injuries, her publications also covered surgeries for obstetrics, the thyroid gland, and various tumors which she had seen in her patients. Her operating experiences included abdominal and chest wounds, amputations, ectopic pregnancy, facial and tendon reconstructions, intestinal resection, hysterectomy, skull trepanation, and setting bones. The Lyudinovskaya Hospital was originally associated with the Lyudinovskaya Mining Plant, but was turned into a surgical hospital serving the nearby communities of the district. Gedroits utilized her Swiss education and battlefield experiences as a basis for bringing it up to modern European standards. She expanded the facility and equipped it with new surgical implements, including white gowns, threads, and gloves. She obtained apparatuses like the D'Arsonval and Tesla high-frequency…Citește mai mult

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Scientific publications By her own assessment in 1928, Gedroits published 58 scientific papers, which included articles and textbooks dealing with general surgery, as well as facial and dental reconstructions, military fieldwork, and pediatric surgery. Most of her works were released in Russian, though some were published in French, German, or Swedish.

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Keen to continue her studies, but unable to do so in Russia, Gedroits arranged a marriage of convenience with a friend from St. Petersburg, Nikolai Belozerov. Although Gedroits was openly lesbian, she and Belozerov actively corresponded, met frequently and traveled together. According to biographer Tatiana Khokhlova, the couple had real affection for each other. They took measures to hide their union, which occurred on 5 September 1894, by living separately. Belozerov's military career took him to Irkutsk in Siberia, while Gedroits used her new name to obtain a passport and slip into Switzerland. She entered the University of Lausanne, where she trained to be a surgeon in the clinic of professor César Roux, graduating in 1898. Earning almost perfect marks, she received her diploma as a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery. Upon receipt of her diploma, Gedroits first worked as an intern in a therapy clinic, but was soon posted as a junior assistant to Roux. Carrying out scientific studies, she became Roux's senior assistant and he subsequently offered her the post of Privatdozent. Immersing herself in her work, Gedroits wrote that she was "drowning in surgery" in an attempt to comprehend all the subtleties of the procedures and how…Citește mai mult

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In 1909, at the invitation of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, Gedroits became the senior resident physician at the Tsarskoye Selo Court Hospital, "with a salary of 2,100 rubles and a state apartment". As the royal household's first female physician and the second-highest-ranking member of the hospital's staff, she headed the Departments of Surgery and Gynecology/Obstetrics, while acting as the attending physician for the royal children. As the only medical facility in Tsarskoye Selo, the Court Hospital functioned as a city hospital, with a surgery, a therapeutic department, and an isolation wing for infectious patients. To ensure that they had reference materials, she wrote a textbook for the royals, Беседы о хирургии для сестер и врачей (Conversations on Surgery for Sisters and Doctors), addressing general surgical problems in laymen's terms. Taking advantage of her position, Gedroits made no attempt to conceal her lesbian inclinations and spoke of herself using masculine verb forms. One biographer, Svetlana Maire, indicated that these manifestations could well have been an attempt to assert her authority as a professional in a male-dominated field. Dressing almost exclusively in men's trousers and suits, she favored a style similar to Feodor Chaliapin's portrait with a beaver hat and a sable fur.…Citește mai mult

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With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Gedroits worked on equipping the hospital and preparing the staff for war. For example, nurses first learned how to dress wounds and prepare the various bandages, dressings, and equipment that would be needed for treatment, before being trained for surgical support. She taught nursing techniques to the Tsarina and her daughters, Olga and Tatiana, and they became assistants to her in her surgical operations. One of the other nurses she trained at Tsarskoye Selo, Countess Maria Dmitrievna Nirod, would later become Gedroits' life-long partner. Raising funds from the nobles, the hospital was equipped to enable rapid treatment, so that soldiers would not have to be sent to Petrograd, as St. Petersburg was now known. Working with Eugene Botkin and Sergey Vilchievsky, she established networks linking infirmaries and supply trains, and planned evacuation routes for the wounded.

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By the end of 1914, Gedroits was mainly involved in serving as the palace physician. Though treating war wounded and giving nursing courses, she was called into service to treat a patient who had a riding accident on the palace grounds, a noblewoman injured in a train crash, as well as the staff of the Tsarina. Her favor with the Tsarina gave her some measure of protection, as she had little patience with Rasputin. Despite this favor, however, one of Gedroits' few medical failures shook the Tsarina's confidence when her favorite maid of honor Anna Vyrubova's treatment was unsuccessful, for although Vyrubova recovered she walked afterward with a limp. Gedroits did have enough influence left to garner a transfer of Nikolai Gumilev from Ulansky Regiment to the Alexandria Hussar Regiment. Periodically, Gedroits would go to the front to compensate for the absence of other surgeons. In one episode in 1916, she performed over 30 operations, mostly trepannings, over a three-day period. When the February Revolution began in 1917, Gedroits, as an employee of the Tsar, could not openly support the Russian Provisional Government. In order to remain neutral in the conflict, while still honoring her friendship with the Imperial family,…Citește mai mult

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Death and legacy Diagnosed with cancer in 1931, Gedroits died in March 1932, aged 61, of uterine cancer. She was buried in the Savior-Transfiguration Cemetery, also known as the Korchevat cemetery, of Kiev, by the Archbishop Ermogen (born Alexei Stepanovich Golubev), who had been a patient of hers. She left her personal papers to her neighbors, the painters Irina Avdiyeva and her husband Leonid Povolotsky. During the purges of 1937–1938, the couple's apartment was raided and Gedroits' papers were discovered. One of them was a letter from her professor, César Roux, advising he had bequeathed to Gedroits the Department of Surgery at the University of Geneva. Based upon the letter, the couple were accused of imperialism and Povolotsky was forcibly disappeared. Gedroits challenged established medical procedure at the beginning of the 20th century and her success with abdominal wound treatment played a part in changing international military medical policy. She is remembered as a pioneer in applying laparotomy for the treatment of abdominal wounds on the battlefront. She was one of Russia's first women to work as a surgeon, the first woman to become a professor of surgery, the first woman to work as a military doctor, and the first…Citește mai mult

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Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (1902). "19 случаев коренной операции бедренной грыжи по способу проф. Roux (Lausanne)" [19 cases of radical surgery of the femoral hernia according to the method of Prof. Roux (Lausanne)]. Русский врач (in Russian) (28). St. Petersburg, Russia: 1026. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (1902). "Коренная операция бедренной грыжи по способу проф. Roux" [A major operation of the femoral hernia according to the method of Prof. Roux]. Русский врач (in Russian) (31). St. Petersburg, Russia: 1123. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (December 1903). "Отчет больницы завода Мальцевского портланд-цемента Калужской губ. Жиздринского уезда за 1901" [Report of the Hospital of the Maltsev Portland Cement Plant of the Kaluga Gubernia, Zhizdrinsky district for 1901]. Хирургия (in Russian). XIV. St. Petersburg, Russia: 698–699. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (27 July 1905). Отчет подвижного дворянского отряда [Report of the Mobile Noble Squadron] (Report) (in Russian). Bryansk, Russia: общество Брянских врачей. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (1906). Новый способ иссечения коленного сустава [A new way of excising the knee joint] (Report) (in Russian). Bryansk, Russia: общество Брянских врачей. p. 48. OCLC 68980749. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), В. И. (V. I.) (1909). Отчет главного хирурга фабрик и заводов Мальцовского…Citește mai mult

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Literary publications In the archives of Razumnik Ivanov-Razumnik, Gedroits' collection of fictionalized autobiographies, Жизнь (Life), confirmed that four volumes, The Little Caftan, The Pole (as in person of Polish descent), The Separation and Shaman had been published. The unpublished volume Tornado was also discovered in this archive. The archive of personal effects Gedroits left to Irina Avdiyeva contained an unfinished poem, Великий Андрогин (старец Досифсй или Дарья) (The great Androgyne (the elder Dosifs or Darya) and a prose article Куски лю­дей (Pieces of people), as well as a school notebook and two diaries from 1914.

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Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1910). Стихи и сказки [Poems and Fairytales] (in Russian). St. Petersburg, Russia: Русскай скоропопулярный. OCLC 228725552. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1910). "Страницы из жизни заводского врача" [Notes on the life of a factory doctor]. Светлый луч (in Russian) (2). Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1913). Вег [Veg (The Way or an acronym of her name)] (in Russian). St. Petersburg, Russia: Цеха поэтов. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1930). Кафтанчик [The Little Caftan] (in Russian). Leningrad, USSR: Издательство писателей. OCLC 228725549. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1931). Лях [The Pole] (in Russian). Leningrad, USSR: Издательство писателей. OCLC 81171108. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (1931). Отрыв [The Separation] (in Russian). Leningrad, USSR: Издательство писателей. Гедро́йц (Gedroits), Сергей (Sergei) (c. 1931). Шамань [Shaman] (in Russian). Leningrad, USSR: Издательство писателей.

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Princess Vera Ignatievna Gedroits (Russian: Ве́ра Игна́тьевна Гедро́йц, romanized: Vera Ignatyevna Gedroyts, IPA: [ˈvʲɛrə ɪɡˈnatʲjɪvnə ɡʲɪˈdrojts] ; 19 April [O.S. 7 April] 1870 – March 1932), also known by her pen name Sergei Gedroits, was a Russian doctor of medicine and author. She was the first woman military surgeon in Russia, the first woman professor of surgery, and the first woman to serve as a physician to the Russian imperial court. Following her involvement in a student movement, Gedroits was unable to complete her studies in Russia, and despite being openly lesbian, entered into a marriage of convenience, which allowed her to obtain a passport in another name and leave the country. In Switzerland, she enrolled in the medical courses of César Roux and graduated in 1898, working as Roux's assistant, but returned to Russia because of illnesses in her family. As a young physician, Gedroits was concerned at the low standards of hygiene, nutrition and sanitation, and made recommendations to improve conditions. In the Russo-Japanese War, she performed abdominal surgeries against established policy, leading to a change in the way battlefield medicine was performed. Much decorated for her war service, she served as physician to the royal court until…Citește mai mult

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Early life Vera Ignatievna Gedroits was born on 7 April 1870 O.S. in Slobodishche, (now in the Bryansk Oblast), in the Oryol Governorate of the Russian Empire. Her parents were Daria Konstantinovna Mikhau (Russian: Дарья Константиновна Михау) and Prince Ignatiy Ignatievich Gedroits (Russian: Игнатий Игнатьевич Гедройц). Her mother's family were Russified Germans and her maternal grandfather served as a captain in the military. Her father's family belonged to a Lithuanian princely clan which shared its origins with the more famous Radziwiłł family. After having taken part in the Polish uprising of 1863, Ignatiy Gedroits fled to Russia when Lithuanian liberties were suspended by the autocracy. Establishing a tobacco plantation in the Non-Black Earth Region, he was later elected head of the Council of Magistrates in the Bryansk District, and in 1878 received confirmation of the title of prince for himself and his heirs. Gedroits was the middle child among five living siblings, Maria (1861), Ignatius (1864), Nadezhda (1876), and Alexandra (1878). Another brother, Sergei, of whom she was particularly fond, died young and would later inspire her literary pseudonym. Following Sergei's death, she developed an interest in medicine, vowing to become a doctor so that she could help to prevent…Citește mai mult

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Return to Russia On her return, Gedroits was immediately hired at the Maltsov Cement Factory in the Zhizdrinsky District of the Kaluga Oblast as the plant's physician. Though primarily responsible for the medical needs of the workers and their families, she tended to local villagers as well, as she was the only doctor in the district. By 1901, Gedroits had performed 248 operations with minimal fatalities, including amputations, herniation repair, and setting broken bones, many caused by the difficult working conditions of the laborers. Inadequate safety practices by the factory meant that there was a high risk of industrial accidents and the cement dust caused many eye problems. Poor living conditions with little sanitation, inadequate knowledge of hygiene and nutrition, and no midwifery care contributed to other serious health issues, such as dysentery. Concerned about the overall health of the workers, Gedroits made a list of recommendations for factory administrators, including cleaning the wells, providing washing tubs, and serving hot meals. In addition to her hospital work, Gedroits published scientific articles in Russian medical journals, which began to be noticed and reprinted in German and French. Invited to participate in the Third Congress of Surgeons in 1902, she presented a…Citește mai mult

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Kiev While recuperating, Gedroits moved in with Countess Nirod, with whom she lived for the remainder of her days. Initially they lived in an apartment on Kruglouniversitetskaya Street, according to their neighbor, Irina Avdiyeva, as a married couple. She published two poems in the Banner of Labor in 1918, Искушение Святого Антония (The Temptation of St. Anthony) and Галицийские рассказы (Galician Stories), which reflected on her war impressions. As soon as she was able to return to work, Gedroits began working in the hospital of the Intercession Monastery and by 1919 had established a clinic to perform maxillofacial surgery. In 1920, when the Kiev Medical Institute organized a surgery department, she was invited by Yevgeny Tcherniakhovsky to join the faculty. In 1921, she began working as an external lecturer, teaching a course on pediatric surgery. She was appointed as a professor of medicine in 1923 and entered a period of publishing as an academic surgeon. In 1924, she published a paper on nutrition and in 1928 wrote an article on surgical procedures for treating tuberculosis in the knee. She published a textbook on pediatric surgery; wrote extensively for surgical journals with articles on surgery, endocrinology and oncology; and participated in…Citește mai mult