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Web End = J Neurol (2016) 263:10471049 DOI 10.1007/s00415-015-7890-5
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Web End = William John Little (18101894)
Krzysztof Pietrzak1 Andrzej Grzybowski2,3 Jacek Kaczmarczyk1
Received: 20 August 2015 / Revised: 25 August 2015 / Accepted: 26 August 2015 / Published online: 4 September 2015 The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
William John Little (Fig. 1) was born on 7 August 1810 in London, where his father owned an inn. Little had suffered from club foot from early childhood. It is still unclear whether it was a birth defect or an aftermath of an early childhood polio. Having completed his education in England, he continued his studies in France. His language ability was outstanding; in French language contests he came ahead of native Frenchmen.
He returned to London in 1826 to start a 2-year practice in a pharmacy. In 1828 he started medical studies at the London Hospital, and later continued his medical education at Guys Hospital. Soon, he became a teacher of anatomy, physiology and pathology at the London Hospital. In 1832, Little was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons. However, his attempts to obtain a post as surgeon at the London Hospital were unsuccessful, which led him to move to Berlin in 1834 to pursue further education.
During his studies in Europe he met Luis Stromeyer (18041876), a pioneer of tenotomy. Stromeyer performed a very successful tenotomy of the Achilles tendon on Littles foot. Little was impressed both by Stromeyers achievements and his own experience as a patient. His work [1] on the treatment of foot deformities earned him a doctoral degree from the University of Berlin in 1837.
Little returned to London in 1837. In the same year, he performed a tenotomy of Achilles tendon on a 15-year-old boy. He developed his private practice and...