Hans Frangenheim

Hans Frangenheim
Born (1920-01-18)18 January 1920
Köln, Germany
Died 22 September 2001(2001-09-22) (aged 81)
Konstanz, Germany
Nationality German
Education University of Köln (M.D.)
Occupation Gynecologist

Hans Frangenheim (18 January 1920, Köln, Germany – 22 September 2001, Konstanz, Germany) was a German gynecologist and a pioneer in gynecologic laparoscopy.

Biography

Hans Frangenheim was the second son of Paul Frangenheim, Director of Surgery at the University of Köln, and his wife Margarete. When his father died in 1930, Frangenheim was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland until 1938. Early in World War II Frangenheim did military service with the Luftwaffe. In 1942 he started his medical studies at the Universities of Münster, Bonn, and Köln. After the war he assisted in an American military hospital. From 1946 to 1950 Frangenheim worked in Surgery at the University of Köln and at the Pathology Institute of the University of Bonn. In 1950 he started his training in gynecology at the Women’s Clinic at Wuppertal under the directorship of Anselmino and advanced to become Oberarzt in 1954. In 1966 he became Director of Gynecology at the City Hospital of Konstanz and in 1983 he was named Professor at the Freiburg University. He retired in 1985 and died in 2001.[1]

Pioneer in laparoscopy

In 1951, Frangenheim observed an internist performing a liver laparoscopy using a method developed by Heinz Kalk. Frangenheim later recalled” I realized that this could mean a new aid for gynecology and began looking into the literature.”[1] Frangenheim improved instrumentation and started to perform laparoscopic procedure on a regular basis by 1952.[1] In 1955 Frangenheim visited Raoul Palmer in Paris another pioneer in laparoscopy applying it for the investigation of infertility. In 1958 Frangenheim reported his experience when few gynecologist were using the abdominal approach to investigate the pelvis.[2] More popular was at that time the approach pioneered by Albert Decker using culdoscopy.[1] Frangenheim developed an improved insufflator to facilitate the installation of CO2 into the abdomen.[3] He started to teach numerous interested colleagues at the Wuppertal hospital, among them Patrick Steptoe.[1][4] Frangenheim published the first book about gynecologic laparoscopy in 1959. He pointed out that it was superior to culdoscopy and useful for investigations of infertility and ectopic pregnancy.[5] In 1964 Frangenheim presented the use of “cold light” whereby the light was transmitted through fiberoptics to the laparoscope. Illumination was much better and Frangenheim predicted that this would replace traditional illumination that had the light bulb incorporated at the tip of the instrument.[1] Frangenheim not only used laparoscopy for diagnostic indications but also started to do operative interventions.[3] Along with Palmer Frangenheim introduced a laparoscopic method to block the fallopian tubes for sterilization.[1]

Selected publications

Honors and awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Litynski GS. "Hans Frangenheim - Culdoscopy vs. Laparoscopy, the First Book on Gynecological Endoscopy, and "Cold light"". JSLS 1997 Oct-Dec; 1(4):357-361. PMC 3016753Freely accessible. PMID 3016753.
  2. ↑ Frangenheim H (1958). "Die Bedeutung der Laparoskopie fue die gynaekologische Diagnostik". Fortschr Med. 76: 451–452.
  3. 1 2 Camran Nezhat. "Neshat's History of Endoscopy. Chapter 18. 1950's". Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ Litynski GS. "Patrick C. Steptoe: Laparoscopy, Sterilization, the Test-Tube Baby, and Mass Media". JSLS. PMC 3015256Freely accessible. PMID 9876723.
  5. ↑ Frangenheim H. Laparoskopie und Culdoskopie in der Gynaekologie. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1959.
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