From Trephination to Tailored Resection: Neurosurgery in Germany before World War II

Evidence exists that trephination was performed in Germany as early as the Stone Age. Late medieval barber surgeons further developed instruments and techniques for this procedure. Various surgeons performed individual cranial operations before the 1870s, and neurosurgery evolved as a distinct discipline in Germany around 1934. Before the 20th century, most cranial operations in Germany, as in other European countries, were performed for trauma. Since approximately 1870, a few individuals with a devoted interest in surgery of the nervous system have developed operative techniques for the brain and spinal cord. Wilhelm Wagner, Fedor Krause, Ernst von Bergmann, and Otfrid Foerster were among these pioneers. Through independent research based on careful clinical observation, these physicians contributed significantly to an understanding of the pathophysiology of nervous system disorders that could be treated surgically. They designed techniques, such as those used for intracranial pressure regulation, and developed operative procedures, such as the osteoplastic flap of Wagner, and cortical stimulation, which was performed by Krause and Foerster.