Eduard Zirm

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eduard Konrad Zirm, around 1920

Eduard Konrad Zirm (born March 18, 1863 in Vienna ; † March 5, 1944 in Olmütz , Moravia ) was an Austrian ophthalmologist who carried out the first successful organ transplant , a cornea transplant , in 1905 .

Career

Zirm grew up in Vienna. Since the father died early, he and his sister Adele were raised by the mother alone. After attending the Schottengymnasium , he studied at the Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna and worked there as a demonstrator at the anatomical institute for two years. He then worked as an assistant doctor at the Stellwag Eye Clinic and, after completing his doctorate, moved to the Second Vienna Eye Clinic, where he worked as an ophthalmologist and first assistant to Professor Stellwag. His role model and at the same time teacher and supporter was Theodor Billroth .

Ophthalmological institution in Olomouc

In 1892 he got a job at the hospital in Olomouc in Moravia , where in 1894 he took over the treatment of eye patients . Because of his success in this area, an eye department was planned for the planned state hospital in Olomouc, which for many years became one of the most modern and largest eye care institutions.

transplantation

Commemorative plaque that was placed in Olomouc on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the successful operation

On December 7, 1905, he performed the first successful organ transplant on the cornea. After a caustic lime accident, the blind day laborer Alois Glogar had the cornea of ​​11-year-old Karl Bräuer implanted. One of the biggest problems at the time was that you couldn't sew the cornea yourself without a microscope , which is why Dr. Zirm tied them from the outside. Even after healing, the lens did not cloud. After a few hours the patient could see again and remained seeing until the end of his life.

The surgical method developed by Zirm is still the basis for healing corneal damage today. Today's heart, kidney and liver transplants are derived from this operation. In his Olomouc years from 1894 to 1928, Eduard Zirm performed 7,866 cataract operations and numerous other corneal transplants ( keratoplasty ) with a small staff .

Zirm died in Olomouc on March 5, 1944. He is buried in Graz at the St. Peter Cemetery.

Works

  • The world as feeling, a natural-philosophical study for experts and laypeople. Franz Deuticke, Leipzig and Vienna, 1937
  • A successful keratoplasty. Graefes Archives for Ophthalmology, 1906
  • About corneal grafting. Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, 1907

literature

  • Jürgen Thorwald : The world empire of surgeons. Steingrüben, Stuttgart, 1958
  • Erna Lesky: The Vienna Medical School in the 19th Century. Hermann Böhlaus Nachf, Graz-Cologne, 1965, ISBN 3-205-02022-7

Web links

Commons : Eduard Zirm  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Zirm, Eduard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zirm, Eduard Konrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ophthalmologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1944
Place of death Olomouc (Moravia)