1875

1884
Leopold von Schroetter in Vienna independently describes spontaneous thrombosis of the subclavian-axillary vein in young individuals.

Von Schroetter was an internist and laryngologist in Vienna. He developed the first modern lecture hall, with an accompanying laboratory. At the age of 78, he attended the Crown Prince of Germany.

1884
A. P. Gould describes the first case of stroke resulting from arterial thoracic outlet syndrome. Additional cases were reported by Symonds in 1927, Yates in 1928, Smith in 1941, Hoobler in 1942, Fields in 1986, and Al-Hassan in 1988.

1907
Dr. William Keen at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia publishes a review of 42 cases of resected cervical ribs, and describes a clinical definition and surgical treatment for this disorder.

Dr. William Williams Keen became renowned as the first surgeon in America to remove a brain tumor and have the patient survive for 30 years. Dr. Keen had served as a surgeon in the Civil War, and utilized his experiences to publish the seminal book in its field, Gunshot Wounds and Other Injuries of the Nerves.  After the Civil War, Dr. Keen traveled to Europe to study with famed physicians Duchenne in Paris and Virchow in Berlin.  Dr. Keen returned to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia as professor of surgery, where he performed the first successful brain tumor removal, performed the first ventricular puncture for the treatment of hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure, and developed the technique of cervical nerve root section for the treatment of spasmodic torticollis.  In 1887, Dr. Keen revised and re-edited the American edition of Grey's anatomy, and in 1906 he became editor of the multivolume Surgery, Its Principles and Practice.  In this volume, Dr. Harvey Cushing, with whom Dr. Keen had a long professional relationship, first published work that created a sensation in the medical world, and established the discipline of neurosurgery as a distinct field in medicine.

In 1893, Dr. Keen assisted in removing a sarcoma from the mouth of President Grover Cleveland, an operation which was kept secret for more than 15 years, until after the President’s death.  In 1921, Dr. Keen attended Franklin Delano Roosevelt after he contracted polio.  Dr. Keen was the president of the American Medical Association in 1900, was the first surgeon to receive an honorary fellowship in the American College of Surgeons, was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in England and the Legion of Honor in France, and received honorary degrees from seven North American universities and four international universities.

1918
William Halsted publishes a number of papers describing subclavian artery aneurysms caused by cervical ribs.

Dr. Halsted was one of the pioneers of modern surgical technique in the United States, using aseptic technique and novel wound closure techniques to advance the safety and efficacy of surgery. He performs the first emergency blood transfusion, the first radical mastectomy, the first nerve block, the first inguinal hernia repair, and invents the surgical glove. Dr. Halsted was named the first surgeon-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and was the first professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He created subspecialty divisions in the surgery department, and the radiology department at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Halsted became renowned for training surgical residents, many of whom went on to create surgical residency programs at institutions throughout the United States, spreading the prodigious influence of Dr. Halsted. Dr. Halsted was also the captain of the first American 11-player football team in 1870.

1927
Adson and Coffey at the Mayo Clinic suggest the mechanism by which the anterior scalene muscle causes neurovascular compression in patients with cervical ribs, and are the first to demonstrate that scalenotomy alone can relieve the symptoms of neurovascular compression, without resection of the cervical rib. This procedure becomes popular for several decades, although the recurrence rate is very high.

Dr. Alfred Washington Adson created and headed the Section of Neurological Surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He was a pioneer in American surgery, was a founding member and president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, and was president of the Minnesota State Medical Association and the Minnesota State Board of Medical Examiners..

Dr. Alfred Washington Adson created and headed the Section of Neurological Surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He was a pioneer in American surgery, was a founding member of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, and was president of the Society of Neurological Surgeons, of the Minnesota State Medical Association, and the Minnesota State Board of Medical Examiners.

1929
Naffziger and Grant first introduce the concept of neurovascular compression in the thoracic outlet due to scalene muscle anomalies, without the presence of a cervical rib. They perform the first scalenotomies in patients without cervical ribs, but do not publish their findings until 1937 and 1938.

Dr. Howard Christian Naffziger, who trained under eminent surgeons William Halsted and Harvey Cushing, became one of the most esteemed neurosurgeons of his time. He created the division of Neurosurgery and served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco, was elected president of the American College of Surgeons, and was Chairman of the committee that established the American Board of Neurological Surgeons.

Francis Clark Grant trained under eminent neurosurgeons Charles Frazier and Harvey Cushing. Dr. Grant succeeded Dr. Frazier as Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery at the School of Medicine and the University Hospital at University of Pennsylvania. He published over 200 papers in his lifetime, and refined or developed several neurosurgical procedures and instruments.

1935
Renowned surgeons Alton Ochsner, Mims Gage and Michael DeBakey at LSU publish a comprehensive study of patients with symptoms of neurovascular compression in the thoracic outlet in the absence of a cervical rib, for which they coin the term, "Scalenus Anticus Syndrome". They credit Naffziger with first recognizing this mechanism in 1929 in patients without cervical ribs, and suggest the term "Naffziger Syndrome".

Dr. Alton Ochsner was named Chairman of Surgery at Tulane Medical School at the young age of 31, and founded the world-famous Ochsner clinic at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which remains one of the pre-eminent surgical teaching programs in the country. Dr. Ochsner was the first to report the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, and he trained some of the most prominent surgeons of the time, including Dr. Michael DeBakey.

Dr. Michael DeBakey is one of the most renowned cardiovascular surgeons in the world. After volunteering for military service in World War II, Dr. DeBakey created the concept of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H unit) that enjoyed stellar success during the Korean War. Dr. DeBakey was one of the first cardiothoracic surgeons to perform coronary bypass surgery, was the first man to perform carotid endarterectomy, and made numerous other contributions to and innovations in cardiovascular surgery, including work on the Dacron artificial graft, the heart-lung machine, and the artificial heart.

1943
Murray Falconer and L.G. Weddell describe several military recruits with neurovascular compression caused by carrying heavy backpacks while in the "military" position, with the shoulders thrust backwards. They suggest that neurovascular compression occurs between the normal clavicle and first rib when assuming an unusual posture, even in the presence of normal anatomy, and coin the term "costoclavicular syndrome".

Dr. Falconer publishes a second paper with Dr. Franklin W. P. Li, describing an additional 11 patients who undergo first rib resection with good results. Several of these patients had been previously unsuccessfully treated for carpal tunnel syndrome.Dr. Falconer was one of the strongest proponents for the use of surgical ablation in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.  He performed a fellowship under pioneer neurosurgeon Alfred Adson at the Mayo clinic in 1937, and was named first Director of Neurosurgery at Guy's Hospital in London in 1949. Dr. Falconer developed the renowned program at this institution for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy, and over his career helped to elucidate the pathology of temporal lobe epilepsy, and developed and refined the surgical criteria and techniques for treatment of patients with this condition.