OUR DEAR MASTER AND FRIEND PROFESSOR GENEVIEVE HIDDEN PASSED AWAY AND LEFT US ON 27th JUNE 2016
The daughter of Geneviève HIDDEN doctor Françoise LUCET phoned me immediately to inform the lymphologist colleagues and friends of the death of the great anatomist and surgeon.
Geneviève HIDDEN was born in 1926. She obtained the grade of medicine doctor in 1958 at the faculty of medicine of PARIS. Immediately she was fascinated by anatomy , dissection, cadaver research and particularly the teaching of anatomy on the blackboard. She obtained the title of chief of clinics in surgery in 1959 and was nominated professor of anatomy in 1969 in the faculty of PARIS and surgeon of hospital in 1971.
She taught anatomy during 30 years at PARIS OUEST and became chief of the service of general surgery of the hospital of POISSY. Her surgical activity was focused on oncology. But the name of prof. HIDDEN will remain by her important anatomical research of the lymphatic system of digestive and pelvic tract, the lymphatic system of the lung and thorax.
Her master prof André DELMAS understood this opportunity very quickly and gave to Geneviève the possibility of a research of high quality. Prof M.PAPAMILTIADES ten years before had been also a pupil of André DELMAS. The personality of Geneviève HIDDEN was very important for me.
In 1977 I saw her for the first time in the European congress of anatomy in BASEL. I wanted to speak to her of my thesis upon lymphatic drainage of the stomach but I was timid and impressed by her. She was very kind with me and promised to help me. One month after I received a very long letter with advices (I have yet this letter with me) and an important bibliography.
In 1979, we decided in BRUSSELS with Albert LEDUC, Isidoro CAPLAN and Pierre BOURGEOIS to create the Groupement pour l’étude Des Lymphatiques GEL which became some years after the European Society of Lymphology ESL.
Immediately we decided to propose to Geneviève to become founder member of the executive committee in 1980. In may 1983 in the 4th European congress organized in FREIBURG by Michel and Ethel FOLDI, after Albert LEDUC founder president, the executive committee of GEL decided unanimously to elect Prof HIDDEN president of GEL. She was an excellent president with a high level of scientific organization during the congress of BRUSSELS 1984, PORTO 1985, NIMES – MONTPELLIER 1986. In 1987 she decided to let the presidency. She proposed to her general secretary to take over, I was the general secretary, and it was a very great honor for me to be elected on proposition of prof HIDDEN.
Genevève HIDDEN published many papers on surgery and anatomical lymphology; she was interested by physiology of lymphatic system, by all aspects: physiotherapy, reconstructive surgery. In PARIS She gave the taste of lymphology to many pupils: M.RIQUET, JP BRUN, C.BECKER, P.GLOVICZKI. She was member of the international society of lymphology, of the executive committee, of the editorial board of the European journal of Lymphology.
Geneviève was a” woman surgeon” in a peculiar period in FRANCE: it was difficult! She had her personality with her special cigarettes….but a very great attachment for all her family, her husband gynecologist and the children Philippe and Françoise
We are all proud to have been the pupils of a woman of very high morality in the practice of medicine. She left us at 90 years old but we are convinced that she was at the last minutes happy of her life, her family, her colleagues, her pupils, and the European society of Lymphology honors one of the most important founder member and transmit to her family his sincere condolences.
Alexandre Pissas
(Past President ESL 1987 -2001 and
Past President ISL 2001-2003)
