 Professor Hans Willenegger |
Professor Hans Robert Willenegger
1911 - 1998
Professor Hans Willenegger
One of the four Founders of the AO, Professor Hans Willenegger, died in December 1998 after a long illness.
Dr. Willenegger was born in Zurich and obtained his medical degree at the University of Bern. He decided to become a surgeon, and, beginning in 1953, served as surgeon-in-chief at the University of Basel. It was during this time that he became interested in ways to improve the treatment of fractures and became one of the four Founders of the Association for the Study of Internal Fixation (AO ASIF).
As the philosophy of the AO gained acceptance, Hans Willenegger became a worldwide spokesman for the organization and "spread the AO gospel" to over 120 countries. In 1973, he formed AO International, and was its President from 1973 until 1984. During that time he traveled incessantly, lecturing on AO, assisting in surgery, and generally being a marvelous diplomat, bringing the AO philosophy to numerous countries around the world. He was a major pioneer in North America during a time when the heads of most surgical programs here were very conservative and opposed to internal fixation as a routine way of treating fractures.
Professor Willenegger also instituted the AO Fellowship program, and to this day, about 30 senior residents from North America are awarded 3-month fellowships each year at AO centers in Europe and North America.
His contributions to the success of AO in North America and throughout the world are truly immeasurable. He will be greatly missed by all of his friends here and throughout the world, but his legacy is certainly secure for as long as surgeons operate on fractures.