Wolfgang Steiner was the truly indomitable, passionate professor of otolaryngology at the medical faculty of Göttingen, Germany, from 1986 to 2007. He achieved a rare distinction in medicine: he changed the way of thinking of a whole generation of ENT/head and neck oncologists, not just the surgeons, but radiotherapists, pathologists, medical oncologists, anaesthetists and allied specialties such as speech therapy. He promoted a fundamental change in the basic concepts and surgery of upper aerodigestive tract malignant disease, moving us from en bloc open radical tumour surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic laser surgery. This was an entirely new way of thinking, a true paradigm shift. Wolfgang Steiner was born on 3 March 1942 in Crailsheim. His father, Philipp Steiner, an air force inspector, was on the war front in Russia at the time. The town of Crailsheim was bombed. Wolfgang and his brother Udo survived in air raid shelters and because their mother took them by bike to the area around Crailsheim when air raids were expected. The Steiner family also survived the battle for Crailsheim in the last days of the war, which lasted from 5 to 21 April 1945. After the father’s return from Russia, the family moved from Crailsheim to Erlangen. Wolfgang started school in 1948, first attending primary school and then grammar school. He completed his schooling with the abitur in 1961. He played sport in his spare time, especially football and table tennis. He enjoyed going to the cinema on Sundays and visited the municipal swimming pool as much as possible. These activities corresponded to the simple living conditions of the 1950s. After graduating from high school, he spent two years serving in the German Army, which he completed with the rank of lieutenant. He began his medical studies at the University of Erlangen and qualified in 1971. Wolfgang’s early life was characterised by simplicity and determination rather than privilege. His academic record at school was not adorned with straight As, but once admitted to medical school he excelled. Wolfgang’s passion for helping others and his extraordinary work ethic were evident from an early age. Growing up, he developed a profound sense of empathy for those who, like himself, had to work hard for their achievements. This formative experience would later manifest in his remarkable ability to connect with patients from all walks of life and his unwavering respect for everyone he encountered, regardless of their social position. During his ENT training from 1971 to 1975 he became interested in early detection and care of patients with cancer in the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. He commenced endoscopic CO2 laser surgery for excision of early laryngeal cancer in the University Hospital of Erlangen and his results were written up in his 1978 thesis. He then relentlessly increased the indications for endoscopic laser excision of larger tumours as he gained experience. I clearly remember his dynamic lectures and presentations in the 1980s when his pioneering work met with marked resistance at international meetings and at home in Germany (definitely not an unusual response to innovators in the world of medicine). He was appointed as a professor of otolaryngology at the Göttingen University Medical Centre in 1986. Wolfgang’s numerous national and international lectures and publications, with substantial numbers of patients and long-term follow up, gradually led to acceptance and recognition. His concept of a personalised, minimally invasive tumour laser resection, tailored to the individual patient, and preserving organ function was ahead of his peers. It was coupled with risk-adapted radiotherapy in some patients. He was aided in this quest by the talented Petra Ambrosch, who went on to become the professor and head of ENT at the University Medical Centre of Schleswig-Holstein. It was their incredible results in the hypopharynx and oropharynx, in addition to the well-known laryngeal results, that really convinced me, and others worldwide, about the concept of minimally invasive CO2 laser surgery. Wolfgang published over 200 national and international publications whilst being a very busy clinician and teacher. He spoke five languages fluently, though he was always modest about this considerable talent, particularly his command of English. His strength of character and determination were truly put to the test in conferences worldwide. He would repeatedly invite his detractors and agnostics to see for themselves in Göttingen. By the time he retired in 2007 no less than 445 guest doctors (many of them senior and heads of departments) from 53 countries had visited Göttingen. I went to Göttingen in 1997 and it was a fascinating and exceptional educational experience, complete with multiple demonstrations in the operating theatre on a wide variety of cases. In this endeavour and in his family life he received phenomenal support from his wife, Grazia, a gracious host, supreme organiser, linguist and artist. Wolfgang’s empathy extended beyond medicine and as a Rotary Club president he conducted ambitious fundraising campaigns with the same determination, humour and kindness that he showed in his medical life. Not content with demonstrating the important principles and techniques in Göttingen with his whole team around him, he taught on many international courses and, with Petra, operated in many hospitals. They kindly came to the UK to start our annual transoral laser course in 1998 at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital in London. This course continues in Liverpool under the guidance of Terry Jones and his colleagues. Underneath his sometimes stern exterior, Wolfgang was a skilled raconteur and sympathetic man who genuinely cared passionately about making progress for patients with cancer. His book *Endoscopic laser surgery of the upper aerodigestive tract: with special emphasis on cancer surgery* written with Petra and published by Thieme in 2000, remains the most instructive text on this powerful advance in head and neck oncology. It is still applicable to the beginner and experienced surgeon. Eventually, colleagues in Germany and worldwide began to recognise Wolfgang’s substantial step forward in oncology and he began to receive many awards from national and international professional societies, including the Ludwig Haymann prize of the German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (in 1997), the German cancer prize from the German Cancer Society for his outstanding scientific achievements in the field of clinical cancer research (in 2005), the Dr Fritz Erler science prize for surgical medicine from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen (in 2012) and the 2022 Albrecht von Haller medal, the highest award given by the medical faculty at the University Medical Centre of Göttingen. In addition, in 2004 he was presented with an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Wolfgang died on 5 February 2024 at the age of 81. He was survived by his wonderful wife, Grazia, whom he married in 1966, and who was an amazing support to him at all times, and his family, his sons Robert, Christian and Martin, and grandchildren Lola, Luka, Malena, Carlos and Leon.