Hubert’s transforator, c. 1860
On application
A gynaecological instrument for fetal destruction, known as Hubert’s transforator, invented by Hubert, Sr. in 1860. It comprises two parts: – a steel rod, initially mounted at the bottom on a transverse handle and surmounted at the top by a pear with a triple screw thread and terminated by a punch; this perforator, known as the terebellum, is intended to be introduced into the skull; – a protective branch, more or less resembling a forceps spoon, but with a single curvature on the flat side; its handle is hollowed out to receive the terebellum stem; its beak is swollen and hollowed out with a hole large enough to receive and conceal the perforator point. The stem slides into the groove, but can be immobilized there by a pressure screw, in which case the instrument acts as a traction clamp. According to Mr. Wasseige, who has used it on several occasions, it is a good instrument, but he adds: “It only requires the surgeon to have the following qualities: great diagnostic precision, great manual dexterity, marked patience and composure; in short, the operator must possess to the highest degree the qualities indispensable for undertaking such delicate operations”.
Wasseige, who was the rector Liège University, cast himself as one of the fiercest opponents of women doctors. He used all the arguments already cited to prove the incompatibility of being a woman and being a doctor. Even the unmarried, he considered unfit to do this heavy work. The woman was ‘created to be the companion of the man, not his rival. She was the heart but not the head, the support but not the guide’ of society.
Length: 46 cm.
