Lorenz Boehler

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Lorenz Böhler (born January 15, 1885 in Wolfurt , Vorarlberg , † January 20, 1973 in Vienna ) was an Austrian surgeon. He is considered to be the pioneer of modern trauma surgery .

Life

Lorenz Böhler, who comes from a family of craftsmen, is said to have expressed the desire to become a surgeon as a five-year-old. As a young boy he had already dissected small birds and squirrels, and when he discovered the picture of a hand X -rayed by Wilhelm Röntgen in a booklet of the illustrated magazine The Interesting Sheet published on December 6, 1896 , he cut it out and used it to bind his reading book. In 1896 he attended the prince-bishop's seminary in Brixen . After two years he moved to the high school in Bregenz , where he had to repeat the third grade. The Matura put Lorenz Böhler, together with the Minister of Education later Emil Schneider opened in 1895 Communal upper secondary school from Bregenz 1905th From 1905 to 1911 he studied medicine at the University of Vienna . In 1909 Böhler completed six months of military training with the 4th Regiment of the Tyrolean Kaiserjäger in Bregenz. In 1910 he got an internship in the "internal" hospital in Bolzano, where he met his future wife Poldi Settari - a nurse. On July 1, 1911, Böhler received his doctorate in general medicine from the University of Vienna .

Medical activity until 1914

For a short time, Lorenz Böhler worked in 1911 - and then again in 1919/20 - at the Second Surgical Clinic in Vienna, which Julius Hochenegg was head of. He was one of the first to have a trauma surgery department in his hospital. For a few months, from September 15, 1911, Böhler worked as a ship's doctor in the service of the Austro-Americana shipping company until he volunteered at Garrison Hospital 24 in Ragusa on May 1, 1912 and worked mainly bacteriology for five months as an Austro- Hungarian assistant doctor. In the fall of 1912 Böhler was hospitalized Bolzano Sekundararzt and in April 1913 secondary physician and school doctor in Decin on the Elbe . In 1914 Lorenz Böhler attended the International Congress of Surgeons in New York . On the way there he met the Belgian surgeon Albin Lambotte , who told him about the possibilities of surgical bone fracture treatment. Böhler then spent some time at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (Minnesota) . Charles Horace Mayo drew Böhler's attention to the centers for bone fracture treatment in London and Liverpool , which at that time did not exist in this form in the German-speaking area. From Mayo he received a letter of recommendation to William Arbuthnot-Lane in London. The outbreak of the First World War prevented the planned visit on the return journey .

First World War

Shortly after being called up as a troop doctor , Böhler asked the 14th Corps Command in Innsbruck to be allowed to work as a surgeon. From 1914 to 1916 he was a surgeon at the Divisions-Sanitäts-Anstalt No. 8 of the Tyrolean Kaiserjäger. In July 1915 his army corps was transferred to the Italian front (First World War) . In September of the same year, at the age of 30, he was appointed the then youngest kuk regimental doctor. On August 1, 1916, he took over the reserve hospital for the lightly wounded in the former Dominican monastery in Bolzano . Böhler's request to be able to treat bone and joint shots was initially rejected; so he procured equipment and patients himself until his activity was officially approved. The hospital was renamed the special department for broken bones and joint shots. Here Böhler has already put some of his most important ideas into practice: Everything has been specialized and standardized, precisely documented and statistically recorded for later analyzes, the most important information about the case written on the plaster cast, the patients grouped according to the type of injury and patients - according to their possibilities - for work clamped as the production of auxiliary equipment. Böhler had previously seen that patients were accommodated in war hospitals without any systematics, which, in addition to the confusion that resulted from this, also made specialized treatment difficult. Böhler founded trauma surgery with his specialization in surgery for the injured in the special hospital.

For a short time, Böhler was taken prisoner of war in 1918 and was called in as an advisory surgeon for the Italian military hospitals. The hospital was closed half a year after the end of the war.

Between the wars - foundation of the accident hospital in Vienna

Webergasse 2–4: First accident hospital in Vienna

From now on, Böhler's main goal was to establish special departments for accident care. In 1919 he came into contact with the General Accident Insurance Fund in Vienna. With the help of his Bolzano statistics, he explained to the board of directors the medical and economic advantages of specialized treatment in the institution's own accident hospitals. Despite the approval of the AUVA, the implementation initially failed.

Böhler set up a practice in Bolzano. When he was first professor in Brixen in 1924/25 , the new director of AUVA for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland took up Böhler's proposal. On December 1, 1925, the first accident hospital in Vienna was opened at Webergasse 2-6 - with Lorenz Böhler as medical director . For a long time, the hospital was considered a model for similar hospitals around the world.

Like most of the pioneers in trauma surgery (Lambotte, Küntscher) in their environment, Böhler, who is now known as the “father of trauma surgery”, met with rejection from his Viennese colleagues for a long time. "You smile a bit at the muscled, gymnastics 'Böhlerboys'." In contrast, visits from abroad increased. At the suggestion of the American Medical Association of Vienna (AMA), an organization of students and doctors, he wrote the script The Treatment of Fractures for his classes in 1929 . On March 29, 1930 , he qualified as a professor for surgery at the medical faculty of the University of Vienna . After the license to teach he was “obliged to work in med. Fac. The subject 'surgery' as well as' trauma medicine u. Assessment 'to represent' . On March 8, 1934, Böhler became a member of the Fatherland Front , the unity party of the Austro-Fascist corporate state . In 1936 he was awarded the title of associate university professor by the Federal President .

Second World War

Böhler's activities during the Nazi era have not yet been fully processed. It is known that, according to his Gauakt, he joined the NSDAP on February 13, 1938 as member No. 6,361,999 . In the same year, Böhler also became a member of the National Socialist People's Welfare and the Reich Air Protection Association , in 1940 he also joined the National Socialist German Medical Association . From June 18, 1939, Böhler was also a supporting member of the SS (membership number 1.415.799). However, Böhler's political commitment seems to have primarily used career-political goals; in classifications in the Nazi regime, he was judged to be "nationally set before the upheaval, but without being particularly prominent politically".

In the summer of 1939 was one of the 13 signatories of a letter of protest against the relocation of the AMA from Vienna to London. In this letter, seven professors (including Lorenz Böhler) and 6 private lecturers from the medical faculty also stated, “that we the undersigned know of not one case of persecution of a professor for his racial or religious adherence. … It could rather be said that by the removal of certain influences a trend of charlatanism, which was beginning to damage the reputation of the Vienna medical clinics in the eyes of serious medical men, was eliminated ”(“ that we, the undersigned, from never know of any case of the persecution of a professor because of his racial or religious affiliation ... One could rather say that by eliminating certain influences a trend of charlatanism, which began to damage the reputation of the Viennese clinics in the eyes of serious medical professionals, was eliminated ”). This declaration was intended to specifically cover the anti-Semitic-racist NS university policy.

During the Second World War , Böhler served as an advisory surgeon for the Wehrmacht in Army Group 5 and as a senior field doctor in Vienna's Rudolfspital (reserve hospital XIa) in the 3rd district of Vienna , Boerhavegasse 8), where he headed a surgical department and a special hospital for broken gunshots and joint shots. He was also Oberfeldführer of State Office XVII in the Dean's Office of the Medical Faculty .

After 1945

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, Lorenz Böhler initially lost his teaching license at the University of Vienna. This also had to do with the fact that Böhler's date of joining the NSDAP in February 1938 made him an “illegal” National Socialist. In his denazification procedure , Böhler stated that as head of the accident hospital he had only joined the NSDAP under pressure and denied having joined the NSDAP during the period of prohibition before the annexation of Austria . During the Nazi era, it was claimed about Böhler that he never hired a Jewish doctor and that he was always national and anti-Semitic . This assessment was contradicted by acquaintances after the end of the war, saying that Böhler always treated all patients ("foreign workers, Jews and locals") equally.

Thanks to the personal commitment of Karl Renner and other public figures, Böhler received his license to teach again in 1947. He was able to successfully continue his research and teaching activities, but received no payments until 1948. He has published articles on medical topics and taught surgery. In 1954 the Federal President awarded him the title of full university professor . He ran the accident hospital until his retirement in 1963. One of his sons, the surgeon Jörg Böhler , was director of the accident hospital from 1970 to 1983.

When he became an honorary citizen of Wolfurt, Lorenz Böhler donated a prize for special achievements at the Wolfurt schools.

In 1957 he was under discussion as a candidate of the FPÖ for the federal presidential election and had already accepted when he was replaced shortly afterwards by the joint candidate of the ÖVP and FPÖ, Wolfgang Denk , also a medical doctor. Denk clearly lost the election against Adolf Schärf ( SPÖ ).

Lorenz Böhler was buried in Vienna at the Döblinger Friedhof (group 26, number 35).

Treatment maxims

Lorenz Böhler's bookplate with his main work The Technique of Fracture Treatment and Patients in the Power Chamber, which are intended to illustrate his treatment method

Böhler expressly opposed the then common treatment methods of electricity , hot air and massages . He developed special treatment methods for bone fractures . The Böhler symbols , the Böhler nail, the Böhler angle, the Böhler cut, the Böhler rail and the Böhler-Braun storage rail bear his name. He is widely regarded as an advocate of conservative bone fracture treatment; However, he did not shut himself off from operational options when they were necessary. In 1942, the medical service leaders of the Wehrmacht met in Krasnodar . Böhler, Sauerbruch , Handloser , Frey and Wachsmuth discussed the question of whether the new Küntscher nail should be introduced. Above all, Böhler brought about the positive decision.

The AO Foundation sees Böhler next Gerhard Kiintscher , Robert Danis and Albin Lambotte as a model.

Honors

He was an honorary member of 33 professional societies around the world. The Vienna Lorenz Böhler Accident Hospital, which opened in 1972, was named after him, as was a street in Vienna's 20th district . For a long time, the hospital he ran was seen as a model for similar hospitals around the world. He also founded the Stollhof rehabilitation center in Klosterneuburg . In Bozen , the street in front of the central hospital is named after Lorenz Böhler.

Publications

In total, Lorenz Böhler is said to have written over 400 scientific papers. The main work is his book The Technique of Fracture Treatment (1929). It was initially rejected by the specialist medical publishers, and so Lorenz Böhler turned to the Viennese bookseller Wilhelm Maudrich (jun.) With the request to help him with the publication. Böhler himself initially took over the printing costs. After it sold very well - despite some criticism - prominent publishers also got in touch for the second edition, but Böhler stayed with Wilhelm Maudrich (junior), for whom the book was the occasion and the foundation stone for his medical publisher Maudrich . “The Böhler” (the Bible of accident treatment for generations) has been translated into eight languages: English , Spanish , French , Italian , Russian , Hungarian , Polish and Chinese . Lorenz Böhler worked again and again on the book, which initially only had 176 pages. In 1957 it consisted of three volumes with 2500 pages.

  • The technique of bone fracture treatment , Volume I, Volume II, supplementary volume. Reprint of the 12th – 13th centuries Edition 1953/1963, reprint 1996. 3 volumes, linen-bound, dust jacket, 2,483 p. Plus. Subject index, approx. 4,800 illustrations, Maudrich 1996, ISBN 3-85175-666-5 .
  • The specialization of fracture treatment for the war time, a question of great economic importance. In: Zentralblatt für Chirurgie 44 (1918)
  • How do we protect the wounded from amputation and crippling? In: Journal for orthopedic surgery 45 (1924): pp. 244–281.
  • Fractures and trauma surgery in their relationship to the environment. Maudrich, Vienna 1933.
  • Wound treatment. In: Journal for Medical Training. 38 (22) (1941): pp. 545-552.
  • Accident hospitals, accident departments, accident clinics. In: Archives for Orthopedic and Accident Surgery 42 (1) (1942): pp. 5–23.
  • Suggestion for intramedullary nailing according to Küntscher for fresh fractures of the femur. In: Der Chirurg 15 (1) (1943): pp. 8-13.
  • Association teaching for nurses, helpers, students and doctors. Maudrich, Vienna 1947.

literature

  • H. Wyklicky: Lorenz Böhler on the 100th birthday . Trauma Surgery 11 (1985), pp. 103-106
  • Jörg Böhler: Lorenz Böhler. The father of trauma surgery. January 15, 1885 to January 20, 1973. Zentralblatt für Chirurgie 110 (1985), pp. 194-199.
  • Inge Lehne: Lorenz Böhler. The story of a success. Maudrich, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85175-557-X .
  • Fritz Povacz: The spirit of the Böhler school. Maudrich, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-85175-806-4 .
  • Fritz Povacz: History of Trauma Surgery , 2nd unchanged. Edition Springer, Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-74844-1 , in particular pp. 160-172.
  • Peter Voswinkel (Ed.): Biographical Lexicon of the Outstanding Doctors of the Last Fifty Years , Vol. 3 Aba – Kom. Olms, Hildesheim 2002 ISBN 3-487-11659-6 .

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Inge Lehne: Lorenz Böhler. The story of a success. Maudrich, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85175-557-X , p. 14.
  2. ↑ His promotion to senior physician is usually documented in the field sheet, January 1, 1915, p. 4 . Online at ANNO - Austrian Newspapers Online
  3. ↑ Friedrich Lorenz: Lorenz Böhler, the father of trauma surgery. A celebration of the Wilhelm Maudrich publishing house on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Maudrich, Vienna 1955.
  4. ↑ Inge Lehne: Lorenz Böhler. The story of a success. Maudrich, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-85175-557-X , p. 86.
  5. ↑ Personal file Lorenz Böhler, Med. PA 52 Sch. 7 Bl. 2, Archive of the University of Vienna .
  6. ↑ a b c d e Street names of Vienna since 1860 as “Political Places of Remembrance” (PDF; 4.4 MB), p. 217 ff, final research project report, Vienna, July 2013
  7. ↑ a b c Peter Voswinkel (ed.): Biographical lexicon of the outstanding doctors of the last fifty years. Vol. 3 Aba – Kom. Olms, Hildesheim 2002, pp. 147-148.
  8. ↑ a b Michael Hubenstorf: Medical Faculty 1938–1945. In: Gernot Heiss, Siegfried Mattl, Sebastian Meissl, Edith Saurer, Karl Stuhlpfarrer (Ed.): Willing Science. The University of Vienna 1938 to 1945. Publishing house for social criticism , Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-85115-107-0 , pp. 233–282.
  9. ↑ Personal file Lorenz Böhler, Med. PA 52 Sch. 7 p. 48, archive of the University of Vienna .
  10. ^ Wolfurt Middle School: Lorenz Böhler Prize. Retrieved November 11, 2012 .
  11. ^ Diepresse.com Die Presse: 1957: The fiasco in the battle for the Hofburg
  12. ^ Aaron L. Sop, Charles T. Mehlman & Ludwig Meiss: Hyphenated history: the Böhler-Braun Frame. In: Journal of Orthopedic Trauma 17 (3) (2003): 217-221.
  13. ↑ Urs FA Heim: The AO phenomenon. Foundation and first years of the working group for the study of osteosynthesis . Verlag Hans Huber, Bern 2011, p. 18 f., ISBN 3-456-83638-4
  14. ^ Prince Eugen Medal of the City of Vienna in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  15. ^ Honorary members of the German Society for Surgery
  16. ↑ Wolfgang U. Eckart (Ed.): Doctors' Lexicon. Vol. 1. Springer, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-540-29584-4 , p. 68.
  17. ↑ His son Jörg Böhler speaks of 450 works in a tribute to the 100th birthday. Jörg Böhler: Lorenz Böhler. The father of trauma surgery. January 15, 1885 to January 20, 1973. In: Zentralblatt für Chirurgie. 110 (4) (1985): pp. 194-199.
  18. ↑ Ernst Kern : Seeing - Thinking - Acting of a surgeon in the 20th century. ecomed, Landsberg am Lech 2000, ISBN 3-609-20149-5 , p. 32.
personal data
SURNAME Böhler, Lorenz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian surgeon
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Wolfurt
DATE OF DEATH 20th January 1973
Place of death Vienna