Gerhard Küntscher
Encyclopedia
Gerhard Küntscher was a German
surgeon
who inaugurated the intramedullary nailing of long bone fracture
s, a process that was first performed in November 1939 at the University Department of Surgery in Kiel. The German military initially disapproved Kuntscher’s IM nailing technique but introduced it in 1942.
While in the Finnish Lapland from 1942 to 1944, Küntscher taught Finnish surgeons to do intramedullary nailings, which earned him recognition and respect in the orthopedic community. The war also prevented the knowledge of Kuntscher’s use of the IM nail to exit Germany. The German military had the upper hand in treating soldiers with the IM nail and having them return to fighting status in just a few weeks. Worldwide knowledge was not established until the prisoners of war (POW’s) returned to their home countries carrying Kuntscher’s legacy in the form of steel nails in their legs.
He invented what is known as the Küntscher nail, an internal fixation device used to maintain the position of the fracture fragments during healing. The nail is rigid and has a cloverleaf
shape in cross-section.
Of Küntscher's invention, A. W. Fischer said in 1944: "This practical treatment of fractures using a nail, the Küntscher procedure, is, in my eyes, a great revolution that will conquer the world.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
who inaugurated the intramedullary nailing of long bone fracture
Fracture
A fracture is the separation of an object or material into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress.The word fracture is often applied to bones of living creatures , or to crystals or crystalline materials, such as gemstones or metal...
s, a process that was first performed in November 1939 at the University Department of Surgery in Kiel. The German military initially disapproved Kuntscher’s IM nailing technique but introduced it in 1942.
While in the Finnish Lapland from 1942 to 1944, Küntscher taught Finnish surgeons to do intramedullary nailings, which earned him recognition and respect in the orthopedic community. The war also prevented the knowledge of Kuntscher’s use of the IM nail to exit Germany. The German military had the upper hand in treating soldiers with the IM nail and having them return to fighting status in just a few weeks. Worldwide knowledge was not established until the prisoners of war (POW’s) returned to their home countries carrying Kuntscher’s legacy in the form of steel nails in their legs.
He invented what is known as the Küntscher nail, an internal fixation device used to maintain the position of the fracture fragments during healing. The nail is rigid and has a cloverleaf
Cloverleaf
-Places:*Cloverleaf, Louisville, Kentucky, a neighborhood*Cloverleaf, Texas, a suburb of Houston*Cloverleaf Local School District in southern Medina County, Ohio-Science and technology:*A representation of the chemical structure of a transfer RNA molecule...
shape in cross-section.
Of Küntscher's invention, A. W. Fischer said in 1944: "This practical treatment of fractures using a nail, the Küntscher procedure, is, in my eyes, a great revolution that will conquer the world.