Instruments for Ovaroclasia (1888)

On August 16, 1887, a private surgical procedure was performed in Lugano, Switzerland, involving the crushing of the ovary while leaving it in situ as a treatment for a psychiatric disorder. Edoardo Porro (1846-1902), director of the Royal School of Obstetrics in Milan, carried out the procedure using a Klemmer forceps. Though technically successful, it did not resolve the condition, leading to a subsequent intervention by Robert Lawson Tait (1845-1899), who removed the ovary. The negative outcome fueled a heated controversy between the two surgeons. On November 26, 1888, Pier Matteo Fontana (1851-1902) manually performed a similar procedure in Brescia, resulting in partial symptomatic improvement. That same year, Porro published a monograph defending his method, introducing two instruments for ovaroclasia, manufactured in Milan by Baldinelli and Gennari. The procedure never gained widespread acceptance and was not cited in contemporary gynecological literature. The two instruments are now preserved in the museum collections of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan. They do not appear in manufacturer catalogs, suggesting they were never commercially distributed. A third, undocumented instrument is also part of the collection. These surgical tools serve as historical artifacts, reflecting a now-obsolete intervention. They also highlight the medical attitudes and gendered biases that shaped women’s healthcare in the late 19th century.