[The contribution of Germanicus Mirault to maxillofacial surgery in general and to surgery of the cleft lip in particular].

Germanicus Mirault is a French surgeon born in Angers in 1796. With Malgaigne, he was the first to introduce the concept of flap transposition for closure of a cleft-lip. This skillful and innovative surgeon made also very important contributions to other fields of maxillofacial surgery, including the first ligature of the lingual artery on a human being in 1833 and a method of temporary occlusion of the eyelids to correct a post-burn ectropion which is still used now. This latter work was awarded by the "Académie des Sciences" in 1869.