BARDENGEYER

BARDENGEYER, Bernhard (Bernhard Bardenheuer, 1839-1913), outstanding German surgeon. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, he headed the surgical department of a fortress infirmary; in 1874, the city council of Cologne elected him chief surgeon of the 'civil hospital' (Burgerspital), in which B. worked for 39 years. Despite the

unfavorable conditions of the hospital setting, B. earlier and better than many directors of university clinics put into practice the new ideas of Lister on antiseptic and aseptic principles of surgery. Brilliant successes, especially in the field of surgery of the extremities, drew the attention of wide circles to B., who in 1884 was awarded the title of professor - then a very rare distinction for a person without an official scientific-teaching position. In the 'Deutsche Chirurgie' published by Billroth and Lücke, B.'s major work on injuries to the extremities appeared. B. acquired world fame by developing a new system for treating fractures through traction. The principle of such treatment was not new, and the choice of rubber plaster as a material for attaching the traction could be considered only a technical detail. But the results of anatomical and functional healing even of severe fractures were so remarkable that the hospital in Cologne became an attractive center, to which doctors flocked from all sides to study B.'s technique. The key to success here lay primarily in the correct organization of hospital affairs, in the coordination of medical work, nursing care, and the active cooperation of the patients themselves in treatment. In 1904, this work received further development in the form of the founding of the 'Cologne Academy of Practical Medicine' with B. at its head. The great significance of Bardengeyer's work for traumatology is also evidenced by his latest works in the 'Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie' on ischemic muscular contracture and gangrene, as well as on injuries of peripheral nerves.