One would be hard pressed to find a more controversial figure in the history of medicine than J. Marion Sims. Originally lionized as the ''father of gynecology,'' Sims was later reviled by a generation of critics as racist and sexist.

Today, as an operation introduced by Sims is bringing relief to thousands of women in the developing world, a few scholars are quietly hoping to rehabilitate his name. But it is not going to be easy.

Sims, who was born in South Carolina in 1813, was not destined for greatness. He was a lackluster student who showed little ambition after receiving his medical degree.

But he changed after a chance event in 1845. While evaluating a woman with a slipped, or prolapsed, uterus, Sims, then living in Alabama, had her kneel and place her chest close to her knees. This position not only moved the woman's uterus back into place, but it afforded him an excellent view of how childbirth had damaged her anatomy.