The aim of this paper is to describe the figure of the Italian surgeon Iginio Tansini (1855-1943), who was full professor of surgery and director of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pavia (1903-1931). In that period, he modernized the School of Surgery founded by Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832) in the previous century; he introduced the experimental method in the discipline. One of his major contributions was an innovative technique of mastectomy followed by plastic reconstruction with myocutaneous flap. Tansini was a pioneer in oncology, supporting the importance of an early diagnosis based on a biopsy; he was also the first in Italy to practice a gastrectomy for stomach cancer with success in 1887.
Keywords: Iginio Tansini; breast surgery; history; oncology; surgery.