Obituary Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Fritz Meißner, October 31, 1920 to January 16, 2004

Quod sit, esse velit; nihilque malit (Martial)

Around Christmas I paid a visit to Fritz Meißner at his request and we had a last personal conversation. His words “at my age, every new day is a gift” have remained unforgettable. Maybe he had a presentiment that his end was nearing. The heartfelt and affectionate Christmas and New Years letter indicated something of the sort. His planned visits to conferences in Munich and Bonn had to be called off as, in his words, “my heart is keeping me on a short lead”. Fritz Meißner's traditional celebration with his oldest students together with his dear wife Elfriede the day before New Years' Eve was to be the last one. His death came as a surprise to everyone.

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Fritz Meißner, Doyen of Paediatric Surgery, Honorary president of the German Society for Paediatric Surgery, Honorary senator of the University of Leipzig, Member of the German Academy of Natural Scientists LEOPOLDINA, Member of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons, Honorary member of numerous European Societies for Paediatric Surgery.

Fritz Meißner grew up in Naunhof near Leipzig and studied medicine in Leipzig in the shadow of the Second World War. He trained with the surgeons Ernst Heller and Herbert Uebermuth and the internist Max Bürger. In 1945 he completed his doctorate - during the vice-chancellorship of the famous philosopher Hans Gadamer. Fritz Meißner completed his habilitation in 1956; in 1958 he was appointed assistant medical director and in 1959 he founded the Clinic and Polyclinic for Paediatric Surgery of the University of Leipzig. In 1961 he was appointed professor with permission to teach paediatric surgery.

Fritz Meißner saw modern paediatric surgery as a special, age-related surgical area. His view that the growing and developing organism of a child must be considered in all its complexity and that diagnostics, operative techniques, pre-treatment and aftercare must be adapted to take account of the patient's age influenced the professional development of his students. He made a point of stressing these principles and his students are particularly grateful to him for this. His tenacity and his power to overcome resistance when implementing new ideas were unsurpassed. His students particularly remember in this context his introduction of the priority principle for postponed operations, now one of the standards in paediatric surgery. His confident operative skills delighted and inspired all those who witnessed them.

Fritz Meißner was a popular university lecturer. His lectures were proverbially famous and were distinguished by their originality and didactic flair. He too was very fond of his students.

He brought scientific conferences to life. His appearance was impressive and his rhetoric was unequalled with sharp and appropriate phrasing, humorous associations and clear and pioneering ideas.

His outstanding scientific achievements have been acknowledged many times. The young generation of paediatric surgeons are barely aware of how many topics Fritz Meißner worked on and how many basic forms of treatment are owed to him. I will just list a few here:

1964: Introduction of intramedullary stabilisation through Rush pinning for fractures of tubular long bones. 1965: Introduction of hydrostatic desinvagination; the establishment of shunt surgery for hydrocephalus and myelomeningocele; introduction of ventricular and subdural-peritoneal drainage without valves. After 1970: Introduction of a modified operative technique for hiatal hernia; enforcement of the principle of organ preservation after splenic injuries; modification of thoracoplasty after Ravitch for funnel chest.

His books, articles and over 300 original works are ranked among the standard works of paediatric surgery.

Fritz Meißner had a special fondness for neonatal and infant surgery, outpatient paediatric surgery and intensive paediatric surgical therapy.

His principle that responsibility requires qualification and training did not just affect the training of paediatric surgeons but also the training of neonatal and paediatric nurses and surgical nurses. It was due to his initiative that the training course for qualified nurses in paediatric intensive care was given clear profile.

He never looked upon the ongoing specialisation of paediatric surgery as an end in itself but always kept the sick child in its entirety in mind. He therefore persistently supported the founding of a Centre for Paediatric Medicine in Leipzig and became its first director from the year of its foundation in 1980 until he retired in 1986.

Fritz Meißner also devoted efforts to organise the paediatric surgeons of the former GDR in the Society of Surgeons. It was due to his endeavours that in 1964 the section Paediatric Surgery was founded within the Society of Surgeons of the GDR and he remained head of this section until 1972. After the foundation of the Society for Paediatric Surgery of the GDR in 1985, Fritz Meißner was voted its first chairman. After 1990 he was honorary president of the German Society for Paediatric Surgery. He played an important role in the unification of paediatric surgeons in Germany.

As head of the clinic Fritz Meißner was both feared and loved. His intellectual honesty, tolerance, uprightness, his severity and good-naturedness were kept in an emotional balance and he set an example for his students. Fritz Meißner was a model for his colleagues and for the younger generation of paediatric surgeons. For him, erudition and culture stood for intellectual modesty and human existence; his biggest political worry concerned the erosion of core values. Music was the key to his other, relaxed personality. But he also cultivated personal ties and sociable company. His cheery get-togethers are a pleasant memory and the recommendations he gave out during the course of such an evening were often to have an influence on the later development of the person he advised.

Prof. Meißner maintained close ties to his alma mater Lipsiensis for 60 years. He participated actively in university life as an honorary senator. In 1995 the University of Leipzig awarded him a Dr. honoris causa for exceptional services. Even at the age of 83, a tall man slightly bent with age, he impressed those who met him with his personality and his interest in the affairs of the university.

Prof. Fritz Meißner was a founding member of the Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie which first appeared in August 1964. From that time on he was always happy to provide the editing board with advice and support. Even while the GDR still existed, Prof. Meißner already emphatically supported the journal's transformation from a German to an English language journal and he also approved of its change of title from Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie to “European Journal of Pediatric Surgery”. Professor Meißner was a farsighted man who was able to recognise future developments and who retained his keen interest in and commitment to paediatric surgery even after his retirement.

With gratitude and respect we acknowledge the life achievements of Fritz Meißner. His love for sick children was based on his personal experience and his approach to life. Fritz Meißner rendered great services to German paediatric surgery and will live on in the history of his field and in the memory of all those who knew him.