Robert Abbe

Robert Abbe (April 13, 1851 – March 7, 1928) was an American surgeon and pioneer radiologist in New York City. He was born in New York City and educated at the College of the City of New York (S.B., 1871) and Columbia University (M.D., 1874).

Abbe was most known as a plastic surgeon, and between 1877 and 1884 he served as a surgeon and professor of surgery at New York Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and New York Babies Hospital. During this time, he would spend summers travelling, and he amassed a large collection of Native American artifacts and archeological materials.

He is credited with the lip switch flap, which now bears his name. An Italian surgeon named Sabattini described the flap 60 years earlier. Although Sabattini published his technique, it was printed in a book with a limited circulation.

He died of anemia, possibly due to his work handling radium.