In Memoriam: Jürgen Waldschmidt (1935 - 2007)

Professor Jürgen Waldschmidt

Professor Jürgen Waldschmidt was an outstanding pediatric surgeon whom we will always remember for both personal and professional reasons. He was born in 1935 and spent most of his professional career as a pediatric surgeon in Berlin while the city was surrounded by the Berlin wall.

His patients, their parents, and his collegues experienced his unrestricted dedication to patient concerns and his genuine interest in everything new and progressive in pediatric surgery. He dedicated his life to his profession and would literally spend most of his time at the hospital. He usually slept only for a few hours at his modest little house adjacent to the hospital premises. Hospital gowns were also worn at home.

For Professor Waldschmidt, day and night, being awake and being asleep, all blended into one another. Any physician could call him at 03:00 am and talk to a fully awake person, ready to come in and complete the case. Parents and pediatricians would learn that an appointment even at 11:00 pm would not be unusual. The professor's attention would then be unlimited in time. Also, he would appear in pediatric departments at other parts of the city at midnight in order to discuss an NEC case which he only knew of since the morning. On these journeys he wore hospital gowns, covered by a coat he had taken over from his father, whom he revered, also a physician.

The professor was naturally gifted in dealing with children. He distrusted any pompous behaviour and despised bureaucrats and functionaries. They, in turn, were aware of his reservations, and occasionally found a chance to retaliate. Jürgen Waldschmidt never knew and never wanted to know how much money an operation would yield. Often he operated for free, and became angry when he learned that the hospital had nevertheless written a bill. He felt that the attitude to consider a patient as a source of income was not only strange but also unethical.

Outside of Germany, he was seen as an innovator which made him an internationally prominent pediatric surgeon of his time. Jürgen Waldschmidt noticed early that the laser had become a solution for which scientists were still looking for a problem. He had it: hemangioma. Very early he supported and encouraged the use of the laser for the treatment of hemangioma. Within the Berlin atmosphere of the time, with liberal subventions for almost everything, he was instrumental in establishing a laser center. That center still operates successfully to this day. Jürgen Waldschmidt's funeral service was held in a church immediately adjacent to the center.

During his active career, he wrote a book, “Das akute Abdomen im Kindesalter - Diagnose und Differentialdiagnose”. The book, a thoroughly researched volume of more than 1000 pages, was compiled prior to the time of easy access to MedLine, and absorbed much energy which he gladly invested for himself but which was missed by the family at home. A divorce followed and caused a lasting embarrassment and emotional scar.

Professor Waldschmidt had been always interested in endoscopy, flexible at first and then the now classical “minimally invasive surgery”. In the late 1980s well known pediatric surgeons from the United States attended his congress on laser medicine. There they heard of hundreds of laparoscopic appendectomies, performed prior to the official “discovery” of minimally invasive surgery. In fact, Professor Waldschmidt had been performing laparoscopic operations without much ado long before the “endoscopic revolution” appeared. At an early meeting of the now so-called International Pediatric Endosurgical Group (IPEG) which was an organization founded at his hospital, the first thoracoscopic esophageal atresia worldwide was operated. The patient was a child with an atresia without fistula. He kept it for the meeting and offered it to two American guests to operate. They performed the anastomosis thoracoscopically. Jürgen Waldschmidt was satisfied that this historic milestone was reached in his department.

In the meantime the Berlin wall was torn down. Berlin suddenly had everything double: symphony orchestras, zoological gardens and also pediatric surgical departments. As a consequence, Jürgen Waldschmidt's department was closed as soon as he retired. At first he continued to operate, then went on to serve as a consultant in a smaller pediatric surgical department. Finally he gave up surgery more and more. Several minor strokes had warned him. On August 25, 2007, a Saturday morning, his body was found in front of a TV set still turned on, a half-empty glass of red wine at his side.

A good and useful life had ended. Anyone who met him will always remember him for his dedication, his open mind for discussion, and his enthusiasm for pediatric surgery.

Felix Schier Benno Ure