Richard von Volkmann

Richard von Volkmann (17 August 1830 to 28 November 1889) was a prominent German surgeon who also wrote poetry and fiction. Born in Leipzig, the son of the physiologist A. W. Volkmann, he graduated in medicine in Berlin in 1854 and in 1867 became Professor of Surgery and Director of the Surgical Clinic at Halle, where he stayed until retirement. He performed the first excision of carcinoma of the rectum in 1878, described Volkmann ischaemic contracture in 1881, devised a splint and a spoon that bear his name, and invented the surgical retractor now known as the Volkmann retractor. His treatment of articular tuberculosis heralded attempts at preventive surgery. He was an early supporter of Joseph Lister and helped introduce antiseptic surgery throughout Germany. Under the pseudonym Richard Leander he published poems, stories and a children's work, and some of his books were illustrated by his son Hans.