Paul Tillaux

Vocation

Notable

French physician, the first to describe an uncommon Salter Harris Type III fracture of the tibia, in 1892. He performed experiments on cadavers and discovered that stress to the anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament could lead to this type of avulsion fracture. This fracture is unique because it occurs during a certain period of adolescence, when there is a differential rate of growth of the epiphysis. In honor of his discovery, a fracture of the anteriolateral tibial epiphysis is now called a Tillaux fracture — often misdiagnosed as a simple sprain. A similar fracture to the posterolateral tibia was later identified by surgeon Henri Chaput, thus being referred to as a Tillaux-Chaput fracture. Tillaux was a surgeon and professor of surgery in Paris, and in 1879 became a member of the Académie de Médecine. He was director of the Amphitheatre d'Anatomie des Hopitaux de Paris from 1868 to 1890. He died on 20 October 1904. Link to Wikipedia biography