Podcast 695: Einstein and Cellophane

Educational Pearls:

• Albert Einstein had chronic abdominal pain as a middle-aged man
• Dr. Rudolph Nissen, founder of the Nissen fundoplication, performed exploratory surgery for this pain and found an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
• The only treatment for an AAA at that time was to wrap the vessel in cellophane, causing a fibrotic response to prevent rupture
• Einstein died 7 years after this surgery, likely from his leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm

References

Cervantes Castro J. Albert Einstein y su aneurisma de la aorta [Albert Einstein and his abdominal aortic aneurysm]. Gac Med Mex. 2011;147(1):74-76.

Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD

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