Valentine Mott

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Valentine Mott

1785-1865

American physician who pioneered vascular surgery. Mott earned a medical degree from New York's Columbia College, studied surgical techniques abroad in London and Edinburgh, then returned to the United States to teach at Columbia and establish a private practice. He tied arteries to treat patients suffering aneurysms and also developed novel methods to excise cancerous tumors, reconstruct facial and spinal deformities, and remove bladder stones. Named chairman of surgery at New York University, Mott also advised Civil War medical administrators.