Harald Tscherne Lecture IX: „Trauma systems in Europe: Achievements and challenges“

Professor Harald Tscherne underwent his surgical training in Graz, Austria and with Professor Maurice Edmond Müller in St. Gallen. He was drafted to Hannover Medical School in Germany to become the first Chairman of the then new surgical subspecialty named «Unfallchirurgie». On this basis, he developed a complex system of trauma care and one of the largest and most influential Trauma Centers in Europe. His recommendation for the surgical phases after trauma and his scoring system for soft tissue injuries continue to represent the standard of care today. Most importantly, the work set the stage for modern trauma care, where various experts share their knowledge in treating the severely injured patient.

Dr. Inger Schipper is a professor of (orthopedic) Trauma Surgery at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands since 2008. She is the director of the Trauma Department of the Leiden University Medical Center and Trauma Center West.

Dr. Schipper completed her Biomedical Sciences and Medical studies at the Leiden University and was trained as a surgical resident in Amsterdam at the AMC. During her training in Trauma surgery, she did a research fellowship at the AO Institute in Davos and completed her PhD and thesis on the topic of ‘Treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures- The balance between man and material’ in 2003. Finishing her training in trauma surgery at the ErasmusMC in Rotterdam, she became the first certified female trauma surgeon in the Netherlands. Dr. Schipper has been a consultant trauma surgeon since 2002. Her clinical, as well as scientific interests are multiple and relate to the treatment of polytrauma patients, pelvic fractures, complex foot injury, and disturbed bone healing. The scientific research lines that she instituted with the Leiden Trauma Research group comprise the broad area of complex injuries and subsequent care (systems) within the framework of Prognostic Clinical Modeling and Optimizing Clinical outcome. She has given many presentations and courses worldwide, and is involved in national and international research networks, which is reflected in over 200 scientific publications. In 2008, Dr. Schipper was appointed professor of Trauma Surgery at the University of Leiden.

In 2006 Dr. Schipper established an annual 2-day course on approaches in fracture care, that later became one of the Dutch AO flagship courses. Since then she has been very much involved as faculty and chairperson for AO events and courses, both national and international. Currently, she is president of the AO Netherlands foundation. As a past-president of the Dutch Trauma Society, as well as former chair of the board of ATLS-Europe and Africa/ ACS region 15, she is very much engaged in the optimization and enhancement of trauma systems. This year Dr. Schipper has become president of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES). In this position, she will continue to promote collaboration and quality in trauma care within and across European borders. Her second goal for this term of presidency is to increase the involvement of talented female trauma colleagues and to enhance the position of surgeons in training.

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