Adolf Lorenz (21 April 1854,

Vidnava Vidnava (, pl, Widnawa) is a town in Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Etymology The town ...

– 12 February 1946,

Sankt Andrä-Wördern Sankt Andrä-Wördern is a municipality in the district of Tulln in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Population Notable people * Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and di ...

) was an Austrian

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

Career

He studied medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

and subsequently worked as an assistant to

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Eduard Albert Eduard Albert (20 January 1841, Žamberk, Bohemia – 26 September 1900, Žamberk), was a surgeon, professor and historian working under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Life Eduard Albert was born in Žamberk, Bohemia in the family of clockmaker ...

(1841–1900) in Vienna. In 1901 he was one of the founders of the German Society of Orthopaedic Surgery. He was the father of famed

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch. He is often regarded ...

(1903–1989). Adolf Lorenz is remembered for his work with bone deformities. As a young surgeon during the 1880s, he developed a severe

allergic Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...

skin reaction to

carbolic acid Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it requir ...

, a compound that was used extensively in operating rooms. Although the condition prevented him from performing traditional surgical operations, he continued in the medical profession as a "dry surgeon", treating patients without cutting into skin or tissue. Subsequently, he was given the nickname "The Bloodless Surgeon of Vienna". His techniques became known as

bloodless surgery Bloodless surgery is a non-invasive surgical method developed by orthopedic surgeon, Adolf Lorenz, who was known as "the bloodless surgeon of Vienna". His medical practice was a consequence of his severe allergy to carbolic acid routinely used in ...

, reflecting his noninvasive techniques. He was also a eugenicist who said that babies born prematurely should be left to die rather than develop spastic paralysis. He was renowned for his treatment of congenital

dislocation In materials science, a dislocation or Taylor's dislocation is a linear crystallographic defect or irregularity within a crystal structure that contains an abrupt change in the arrangement of atoms. The movement of dislocations allow atoms to sl ...

of the

hip In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

in children. His technique involved putting the patient under light

anesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...

, placing the child in a

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

spica cast in abduction, then using external rotation as the child matured. Also, he added a specialized walking frame to give the patient a measure of mobility. He created a manipulative treatment for

club feet Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, a process that involved stretching or breaking the

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

s, and

epiphyseal plate The epiphyseal plate (or epiphysial plate, physis, or growth plate) is a hyaline cartilage plate in the metaphysis at each end of a long bone. It is the part of a long bone where new bone growth takes place; that is, the whole bone is alive, wi ...

s until the foot was properly aligned. Once alignment was achieved, he applied a cast so that the foot healed in the corrected position. Through the use of traction and

pulley A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt, or transfer of power between the shaft and cable or belt. In the case of a pulley supported by a frame or shell that ...

s, Lorenz developed a mechanism for treatment of

scoliosis Scoliosis is a condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve. The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not t ...

. Due to his fame in orthopedics, he became acquainted with several dignitaries, including U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. During his travels in the United States, he gave an inspirational exhibition in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, an exhibition that became a catalyst in the creation of the Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium, later known as the Baylor University Medical Center and Baylor Health Care System.

Personal life

Lorenz married his assistant, physician Emma Lecher. The family owned a large estate at Altenburg, including a "fantastical neo-baroque mansion" which Konrad Lorenz inherited, and had a city apartment in Vienna.Anatomy of Restlessness- Uncollected Writings, Bruce Chatwin, Picador, 1997, p. 141

References

Pub Med Central
The Legacy of Professor Adolf Lorenz, the "bloodless surgeon of Vienna".
Website of the Adolf and Albert Lorenz Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Adolf Austrian surgeons 1854 births 1946 deaths People from Vidnava People from Austrian Silesia 19th-century Austrian scientists 20th-century Austrian scientists