Eugène-Louis Doyen (1859-1916) was a surgeon and anatomist in France who developed many new surgical instruments and techniques - this object is almost certainly named after him. His career has always been marked by controversy and scandal. In order to find funding and recognition for his clinical research, Doyen began to engage in unethical practices. He often performed experimental surgery without the full knowledge or consent of the patient. For example, he brazenly undertook a cancer homogeneic transplant surgery without the patient's acknowledgement, which is considered as ethical misconduct today. In addition, he also conducted a number of controversial experiments on animals, which raised some ethical questions.
Many modern biographies of Doyen obscure or ignore his immorality, focusing instead on his surgical skills or some other achievements, such as his pioneering works in cinematography. He conducted early experiments with colour film, microfiche, and stereo film by recording some of his surgeries, including craniotomy, abdominal uterine surgery, and the separation of Indian conjoined twins Radhika and Dudhika Nayak. He successfully separated the healthier sister (Radhika) from the seriously ill sister (Dudhika), but Dudhika died soon after the surgery. Radhika recovered well, but died of tuberculosis less than two years later. Although his film records were popular at medical conferences abroad, in France he was heavily criticized for undermining their professional integrity. In particular, the filming of the teenaged Dudhika twins' separation has been seen by many as sensationalism, and Doyen's focus may have been been distracted by his desire to play to the cameras.
At the same time, as an anatomist, Eugène-Louis Doyen produced which was undoubtedly the most controversial atlas of human anatomy of the early 20th century: Atlas d’Anatomie Topographique (1911). In this book, he boldly described the anatomy of male and female, and even deliberately made some of the images gruesome. This illustrates that Doyen
was pursuing sensationalism more than contributing to the medicial industry in France.
Doyen disdained the medical authorities of the time in France and was happy to stand up to them. Some say that his photographs, ostensibly intended to instruct students and provide references for colleagues, seemed to deliberately reveal a contempt for professional norms. He repeatedly clashed with the medical school and French academic institutions, and was increasingly rejected by French traditional medicine. Several of his controversial experiments, although they had some technical pioneering value, produced only modest benefits. Doyen’s unconventionality often produced significant costs for his patients, his colleagues, and his own reputation.
