Cover image for
Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E009306 - Farthmann, Eduard Heinrich (1933 - 2016)
Title:
Farthmann, Eduard Heinrich (1933 - 2016)
Author:
Jörg Rüdiger Siewert
Identifier:
RCS: E009306
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2017-02-17

2017-03-23
Description:
Obituary for Farthmann, Eduard Heinrich (1933 - 2016), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Farthmann, Eduard Heinrich
Date of Birth:
27 February 1933
Place of Birth:
Bünde, Westphalia, Germany
Date of Death:
13 December 2016
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
MD Hamburg

FRCS 1999
Details:
Eduard Farthmann, professor of surgery in Freiburg, Germany, was a well-renowned surgeon, respected and esteemed not only at home but abroad. He was born in Bünde, Westphalia, on 27 February 1933. He received his surgical training in Hamburg-Eppendorf from Zuckschwerdt and Stelzner, two outstanding surgeons who shaped their field. When Stelzner left Hamburg for Frankfurt in 1970, Eduard Farthmann, who was not yet 40, had to take over as provisional manager of the large surgical clinic in Eppendorf. This was an enormous task, which he nevertheless mastered with great success, and he was able to hand over a sound and smooth-running surgical clinic to the newly elected professor, H W Schreiber. He stayed on in Hamburg for another three years. In 1976 he followed a call to Homburg/Saar, perhaps not the fulfillment of his surgical dreams, but a suitable stepping stone. He evidently did not feel at home there, though, because only a few years later, in 1980, he followed the call to Freiburg. This came as a great surprise to his contemporaries, since the competition was fierce, but it was Eduard Farthmann who was chosen. It was soon shown just how highly Farthmann was prized by the Freiburg faculty. In 1987 his colleagues elected him dean of the medical faculty, but his academic reputation carried far beyond the department. By 1993 he was elected prorector of Freiburg's Albert-Ludwigs University. Then, in 1995, he experienced the highlight of his academic career when he was elected rector of the University. He then had to make the most difficult decision of his professional life, the choice of whether to accept the position of rector or to remain the director of the surgical Clinic. He opted for surgery. Eduard Farthmann was a great surgeon who loved his work, yet also approached it with critical analysis. He could tackle surgical issues analytically like no other, illustrating them convincingly in lectures, for example, dissecting problems and then bringing them to a conclusion with a constructive summary. He was thus a popular and esteemed speaker at all surgical conferences. It would have been a great pity if the surgical world had lost Eduard Farthmann to the office of rector! Many successful senior doctors have emerged from his school. He successfully held this important chair in the Freiburg faculty for more than 20 years, and was a worthy successor of famous predecessors such as Czerny, Kraske, Lexer, Rehn, Kraus and Schwaiger. He led his clinic to great international notice and recognition. He was a beacon of the Freiburg faculty, but also of the Medical Center-University of Freiburg, which owes him a great deal, for example the construction of a central operations center, which he inaugurated in 1986. The way he faced, attended to and coped with the severe illness of his beloved wife Antje showed once again what a great man Eduard Farthmann was. He earned all of our recognition and admiration. He was a native of Westphalia, but his colleagues always considered him a 'Hanseat', a native of Hamburg. This was partly because he had undergone his surgical training in Hamburg, but it was also due to his character, which was perceived as sophisticated and slightly reserved, with an almost Anglo-Saxon intellect. Whoever came to know him quickly got past this outward formality and discovered a caring, humorous and warm-hearted person who you would gladly have as a friend! Eduard Farthmann will always live on in our memories as one of the greats in our field.
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E009000-E009999/E009300-E009399
Media Type:
Unknown