Leopold Ritter von Dittel


Leopold Ritter von Dittel was an Austrian urologist born in Fulnek, a community now located in the Czech Republic.
Dittel received his medical doctorate in 1840 from the University of Vienna, and as a young man worked as a physician in Trentschin-Teplitz. From 1853 to 1857, he was an assistant to Johann von Dumreicher and a surgical assistant at the university hospital in Vienna. Later, he became surgeon-in-chief of the Allgemeines Krankenhaus, and in 1865 attained the title of associate professor.
He is credited for developing a number of innovative diagnostic and surgical practices in the field of genitourinary medicine. He is remembered for his pioneer diagnostic work with the cystoscope, a device that was a recent invention of urologist Maximilian Nitze. In urology, the cystoscope is used for endoscopic detection of bladder tumors and other urinary disorders. With Felix Legueu and Émile Forgue, the "Dittel-Forgue-Legueu operation" is named, defined as a surgical procedure for closure of vesicovaginal fistulae.
A medical instrument used for treatment of stenosis of the urethra known as a "Dittel urethral sound" is named after him.

Written works