Published in
N°005 - March / April 2020
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Robert Merle d’Aubigné and the Judet brothers, Jean and Robert: the birth of modern orthopedic surgery in the middle of the 20th century
By Philippe MARRE in category HISTORY
Secrétaire Général, Académie de Chirurgie
Foreword :
This year, the French Society of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery (SOFCOT) celebrates its hundredth birthday: it has been a remarkable century full of French innovation in Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery. In the words of Gérard Lecerf, ‘throughout the 100 years of its existence, our Society has never stopped evolving’. Many colleagues have contributed to this evolution, but three men stand out, in particular, as having had a significant impact on our specialism in the middle of the twentieth century: Robert Merle D'Aubigné (1900-1989), Jean Judet (1905-1995), and Robert Judet (1909-1980). All three were junior residents with the Hôpitaux de Paris: in 1924, 1929, and 1931, respectively.
Robert Merle D'Aubigné made his mark by founding a large, modern centre for Orthopedic Surgery embracing diverse specialisms: today, they are viewed as hyperspecialisms (hip, knee, spine, hand, foot, and tumours). The inseparable Judet brothers were, for their part, responsible for a number of significant innovations: among them, the first series of hip replacements in 1946, quadricepsplasty for knee extension contracture, decortication and graft, as well as cementless THR. Our debt to them is great, indeed.
In this article, Philippe Marre, general secretary of the French Academy of...
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