Vallot’s big break came in the winter of 1647 when the then premier médecin, the aforementioned François Vautier, summoned Vallot to Louis XIV’s bedside alongside a host of court physicians. The nine-year-old king was suffering from smallpox. In his written account of the event, Vallot placed great emphasis upon his advocation of a specific course of treatment which involved a series of well-timed bleedings and purges. Although initially disapproved of by some of his colleagues, the treatment was eventually decided upon and administered to Louis XIV with successful results.