Germanicus Mirault

Germanicus Mirault was born in Angers on either 29 February or 1 March 1796 (1796 was a leap year).^[1][2][3] His father and grandfather were also surgeons, with his father specialising in ophthalmology.^[2]

Mirault first began studying medicine under his father in 1814.^[2] Moving to Paris to continue his studies, he presented his thesis in 1823 on keratitis.^[2][4]

Together with Joseph-François Malgaigne, Mirault introduced flap transposition for cleft-lip closure.^[5][6] In 1935, this work was championed by Victor Veau, who stated "Mirault is the genius of cleft lip surgery".^[7] He made other key contributions to maxillofacial surgical procedures, including the first ligature of a human lingual artery in 1833 and pioneering a method of temporary occlusion of the eyelids when correcting a post-burn ectropion, which is still in use today.^[1][8]