Maurice Edmond Müller (28 March 1918 – 10 May 2009Zentrum Paul Klee:
Press release 2009-05-12
''. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13.) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

who was instrumental in the development of

internal fixation Internal fixation is an operation in orthopedics that involves the surgical implementation of implants for the purpose of repairing a bone, a concept that dates to the mid-nineteenth century and was made applicable for routine treatment in the m ...

techniques to treat

bone fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

s and who also significantly advanced the development of the hip prostheses. For his work in these areas he has been honored with numerous awards. On 24 August 2002,Soiron, R.:
Lebenswerke: In honorem der Stifter Maurice und Martha Müller-Lüthi
'. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SICOT) named him the "Orthopedic Surgeon of the Century" at a congress in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

.Zentrum Paul Klee:
The Müller founder family
''. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. Müller was also the patron who founded the

Zentrum Paul Klee The Zentrum Paul Klee is a museum dedicated to the artist Paul Klee, located in Bern, Switzerland and designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. It features about 40 percent of Paul Klee's entire pictorial oeuvre. In 1997, Livia Klee-Meyer, P ...

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland.

Early life and education

Müller was born in

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...

, Switzerland, where he also went to school.Mäder, F.:
Dies academicus 1998: Maurice E. Müller, Ehrendoktor der Medizinischen Fakultät
', April 29, 1998. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the universities of

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

, and

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

and received his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

from the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

in 1946. In 1944, he was visited by a patient who had a bone fracture treated in World War II by the German surgeon Gerhard Küntscher, who had fixed the fracture using an implanted nail. This and another visit by a patient who had a hip implant made in Paris determined Müller to specialize in this area.

Career

After having worked in

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrative ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, in

Liestal Liestal (, Standard ), formerly spelled Liesthal, is the capital of Liestal District and the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, south of Basel. Liestal is an industrial town with a cobbled-street Old Town. The official language of Li ...

, in

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

, and in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, Müller

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in orthopedic surgery in 1957. From 1960 on he led the department of orthopedics and traumatology at the hospital of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

. From 1963 to 1980 he was professor at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

e and head of orthopedic surgery at the

Inselspital The Inselspital, also named the University Hospital of Bern (German: ''Universitätsspital Bern''), located in Bern, is one of the five university hospitals of Switzerland. It is associated with the University of Bern. The hospital is operated ...

in Berne. In 1958, Müller co-founded the

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen The AO Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries or pathologies and their sequelae through research, development, and education of surgeons and operating room personnel. The AO ...

.AO Foundation:
History
'. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. Inspired by the work of Belgian surgeon

Robert Danis The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Müller developed within two years new tools and fixation implants for orthopedic surgery,AO Foundation:
Maurice E. Müller RIP
', May 11, 2009. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. marketed by two Swiss companies and from the mid-1970 on also by Synthes USA. Since 2004, all three companies are part of the Synthes Holding AG.Christ, S., Schnyder, S.:
Ein Pionier mit vielen Facetten
', obituary in the ''

Berner Zeitung ''Berner Zeitung'' (literally: "Journal of Bern"), also branded as ''BZ'', is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, published by Tamedia in Bern. History and profile ''Berner Zeitung'' was first issued on 3 January 1979. Four different paper ...

'' of May 13, 2009. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. In 1967, Müller founded another company, Protek AG, to market his hip prostheses, which he had developed in the early 1960s, inspired by the work of

John Charnley Sir John Charnley, (29 August 1911 – 5 August 1982) was an English orthopaedic surgeon. He pioneered the hip replacement operation, which is now one of the most common operations both in the UK and elsewhere in the world, and created the ...

. From 1974 on, profits went to the Maurice E. Müller foundation, the first of several foundations Müller founded to advance the education and research in orthopedic surgery. In 1990, the company was sold to Sulzer Medica (which since then has become an independent spin-off from the Sulzer mother company and which later became part of Zimmer, Inc. under the name of Centerpulse).

Zentrum Paul Klee

Müller was also the patron who founded the

, Switzerland. He developed the initial ideas for the museum, contacted architect

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (20 ...

for its realization,Zentrum Paul Klee:
1990-2006
''. URL last accessed 2009-05-13. and donated through a foundation formed for this purpose 70 million

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...

s (more than half of the total cost of CHF 125 millionZentrum Paul Klee:
Maurice E. and Martha Müller Foundation
''. URL last accessed 2009-05-13.) for the construction of the museum. Müller died on 10 May 2009 in Berne.20min:
Chirurg und Klee-Zentrum-Gründer Maurice E. Müller gestorben
'', May 12, 2009. Source: AP. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13.

Works

* M. E. Müller ''et al.'': ''Manual of Internal Fixation'', AO-ASIF, 1980. (3rd ed., 1995). * M. E. Müller ''et al.'': ''The Comprehensive Classification of Fractures of Long Bones'', Springer 1994. .

References

External links

Curriculum vitae
*Jakob, B.; Moser, M.:
Maurice E. Müller ist verstorben
', uniaktuell; May 12, 2009. University of Berne.

An interview with Maurice E. Müller
covering some details of his prosthetics achievements. *Ganz, R.:
Prof. Maurice E. Müller wird 90 Jahre alt
', Inselspital Bern, March 26, 2008. In German.
Annual statement from 2002 of the ''Fondation Maurice E. Müller''
with an image of the "Orthopedic surgeon of the (20th) Century" award plaque and the text of the laudatio in the annex, on pages 20–21. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Maurice Edmond 1918 births 2009 deaths Swiss orthopedic surgeons People associated with the University of Zurich People from Biel/Bienne 20th-century surgeons