Wolfgang Franz (doctor)

Wolfgang Franz (born December 19, 1958 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse ) is a German surgeon, trauma surgeon and sports medicine specialist specializing in knee surgery.

Life

Franz completed his medical studies in Mainz and Koblenz. From 1984 to 1993 he worked as a clinician in various hospitals and completed his training as a specialist in surgery , trauma surgery and sports medicine .

From 1989 to 2000, the doctor looked after the soccer team of the Bundesliga club 1. FC Kaiserslautern and has been the club doctor of 1. FC Kaiserslautern since the 2000/2001 season. In 1991 and in the following years Franz spent several guest stays with well-known knee surgeons, including Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado and Heinz-Jürgen Eichhorn in Straubing.

Franz has been an independent surgeon in the Lutrina Clinic in Kaiserslautern since 1993 , where he performs outpatient and inpatient procedures. The knee specialist also works at the Grünstadt District Hospital and the Ethianum Clinic in Heidelberg.

Franz performs around 1000 knee operations every year. With the help of arthroscopic , i.e. minimally invasive procedures, he reconstructs torn cruciate ligaments (anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments) as well as defective menisci and treats patients with knee instability and performs revision surgery. The knee osteoarthritis is joint-preserving using special methods such as cartilage transplantation (ARTROcell 3D) and the AMIC method (by Franz Autologous Matrix Induced chondrogenesis ) or by the use of partial dentures (unicompartmental sliding prostheses ) therapy.

In 2000, Franz developed his own minimally invasive surgical procedure for the gentle removal of the tendon graft for the reconstruction of the cruciate ligament (“FAST Franz Advanced Semi Technique”) and presented it in specialist articles, workshops and lectures. A scientific study has shown that modern tendon removal is faster than the conventional method, the skin incisions are significantly smaller and there are fewer complications.

Franz is an instructor at the AGA ( German-speaking Association for Arthroscopy ) and a member of the following specialist societies: AAOS (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons / American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons), OARSI (Osteoarthritis Research Society International), ISAKOS (International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopedic Sports Medicine), ICRS (International Cartilage Repair Society), GOTS ( Society for Orthopedic-Traumatological Sports Medicine ) and DGSP ( German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention ). In addition, he is the author of various scientific publications, the editor of a book on groin pain in athletes and, together with Robert Schäfer, has written three patient guides.

He gives lectures for patients under the title "Knee pain - modern forms of therapy", some of which are attended by several hundred listeners. Medical colleagues from all over the world are trained by Franz in workshops in the current procedures of arthroscopic knee surgery. Scientific studies are carried out in the Lutrina Clinic under his direction.

Franz's video clips on YouTube about knee osteoarthritis, artificial joints, cruciate ligament tears and meniscus damage have been viewed almost 90,000 times (as of March 2020). Franz has been on the FOCUS doctor list since 2010.

Franz can be seen regularly on television. On ZDF, he explained in the “ Volle Kanne ” why yoga also causes knee injuries and how you can prevent them. An earlier “Volle Kanne” broadcast shows how Franz treated a torn cruciate ligament in a volleyball player. On Pro7 he demonstrated the reconstruction of a torn ligament in the program “ Galileo ”, which Belgian scientists discovered in the knee in 2013 and which was described in the press as a “new part of the body”.

Science awards

2016: Alwin Jäger Prize with the working group: Drews, B .; Kessler, O .; Franz, W .; Freutel, M .; Dürselen, L .: Biomechanical analysis of elongation and function of the anterolateral ligament.

Works

With Werner Overbeck (Ed.): The athlete's groin pain . Springer 1995, ISBN 978-3-642-79620-3 .
With Robert Schäfer: The knee consultation . Herbig 2007, ISBN 978-3-7766-2544-8 (2nd edition 2010).
With Robert Schäfer: knee osteoarthritis . Herbig 2008, ISBN 978-3-7766-2586-8 , (5th edition 2016).
With Robert Schäfer: The knee consultation . Weltbild Softcover 2012, ISBN 978-3-8289-5086-3 (3rd edition 2012).
With Robert Schäfer: Osteoarthritis of the knee: Entire range of therapies to ensure mobility and quality of life . E-book, Herbig Verlag 2013.
With Sachin Tapasvi (Ed.): Techniques in ACL Surgery . Jaypee Bros. 2017, ISBN 978-93-5270-036-3 .
With Robert Schäfer: diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis. Answers to causes, treatment, self-help , Herbig 2019, ISBN 978-3-7766-2856-2

TV and radio

Help is always available for knee osteoarthritis in: Maimarkt Mannheim: SWR 4 Gläsernes Studio from April 30, 2013, live broadcast
Article about a cruciate ligament patient, in: ZDF Volle Kanne from 23 August 2012
Article on the Anterior Lateral Ligament (ALL), in: PRO7 Galileo, May 13, 2014
Knee killer yoga. Not everyone benefits from the meditative trend sport , in: ZDF Volle Kanne from April 22, 2015
When the knee pops - radio report about (almost) scar-free tendon removal for cruciate ligament tears, in: SWR 2 from June 23, 2015
Morning show , knee appointment with Dr. Franz, in: Maimarkt Mannheim: SWR 4 Gläsernes Studio from May 4, 2017, live broadcast
Knee consultation with Dr. Franz on the Maimarkt Mannheim in the studio of the SWR on May 3, 2018, live broadcast
Knee consultation with Dr. Franz at the Maimarkt Mannheim in the studio of the SWR on May 2, 2019, live broadcast

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Wolfgang Franz, Andreas Baumann: Minimally invasive semitendinosus tendon harvesting from the popliteal fossa versus conventional hamstring tendon harvesting for ACL reconstruction: A prospective, randomized controlled trial in 100 patients . In: The Knee . tape 23 , no. 1 , January 1, 2016, ISSN 0968-0160 , p. 106–110 , doi : 10.1016 / j.knee.2015.09.001 ( thekneejournal.com [accessed June 2, 2017]).
^ "Knee pain - modern forms of therapy" Due to great demand in May - lecture by knee expert and bestselling author Dr. Wolfgang Franz in Weinheim on Tuesday, November 8th, in the Rolf Engelbrecht House, Great Hall. October 17, 2016, accessed June 6, 2017 .
↑ Expert in knee surgery. Weinheimer Nachrichten, April 19, 2016, accessed on June 6, 2017 .
↑ Birgit Henrich: Hope for cruciate ligament rupture patients: New body part discovered in the knee. November 7, 2013, accessed June 6, 2017 .

personal data
SURNAME	Franz, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German surgeon and sports medicine specialist
DATE OF BIRTH	December 19, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH	Neustadt an der Weinstrasse

[1] Wolfgang Franz, Andreas Baumann: Minimally invasive semitendinosus tendon harvesting from the popliteal fossa versus conventional hamstring tendon harvesting for ACL reconstruction: A prospective, randomized controlled trial in 100 patients . In: The Knee . tape 23 , no. 1 , January 1, 2016, ISSN 0968-0160 , p. 106–110 , doi : 10.1016 / j.knee.2015.09.001 ( thekneejournal.com [accessed June 2, 2017]).

[2] "Knee pain - modern forms of therapy" Due to great demand in May - lecture by knee expert and bestselling author Dr. Wolfgang Franz in Weinheim on Tuesday, November 8th, in the Rolf Engelbrecht House, Great Hall. October 17, 2016, accessed June 6, 2017 .

[3] Expert in knee surgery. Weinheimer Nachrichten, April 19, 2016, accessed on June 6, 2017 .

[4] Birgit Henrich: Hope for cruciate ligament rupture patients: New body part discovered in the knee. November 7, 2013, accessed June 6, 2017 .