Two scientists from Ulm assume top positions in the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma

Both Reichel and Gebhard additionally take on the presidency of their parent societies for 2016: Reichel is President of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery (DGOOC) and Gebhard is President of the German Trauma Society (DGU).

Both presidents will be supported in their new roles by the secretary-generals, among whose ranks reshuffling has also taken place: Secretary-General of the DGU Reinhard Hoffmann is to simultaneously assume the role of Secretary-General of the DGOU, while DGCOOC Secretary-General Bernd Kladny is becoming Deputy Secretary-General of the DGOU. (1)  

In assuming their roles, Reichel and Gebhard also become presidents of the German Congress on Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (DKOU), which will be held in Berlin from 25 to 28 October 2016 with the motto “Back to the Future”. Key topics for the congress include joint preservation and joint replacement, conservative fracture treatment, chronic back pain, sport orthopaedics and traumatology, patient safety, and complication management.

The congress motto has been chosen to reflect the challenge that doctors face on a daily basis when deciding between tried-and-tested methods, such as conservative fracture treatment, which is over 100 years old, or the latest technological developments, such as state-of-the-art implants, intraoperative 3D imaging or modern concepts in the care of the severely injured. The congress presidents have invited Israel and Switzerland to be guest countries at this year’s event. 

Heiko Reichel studied human medicine at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. After obtaining his doctorate in 1988 he completed specialist medical training in orthopaedics at University Hospital Halle. He undertook research placements at international orthopaedics centres before earning his post-doctoral qualification in 1996. In 2003, he was appointed adjunct professor at the University of Halle. In 2004 he was appointed C4 Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Ulm. In 2005 Reichel became Medical Director of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Ulm, and one year later Medical Director at RKU University and Rehabilitation Hospital Ulm.

Florian Gebhard studied human medicine at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. After receiving his licence to practice medicine and finishing his doctorate (both in 1985), he completed specialist medical training at the Bundeswehr Central Hospital in Koblenz and the Bundeswehr Hospital in Ulm. Gebhard qualified as a consultant surgeon in 1993, then as a consultant specialising in trauma surgery two years later. He obtained his post-doctoral qualification in 1998. He has been Medical Director at the Clinic for Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery since 2007. In the same year, he gained a W3 professorship in trauma surgery. He has been Vice-Dean at Ulm University’s Faculty of Medicine since 2010.

Important dates: 

25-28 October 2016: German Congress on Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery (DKOU)
Deadline for internet submission of abstracts for DKOU: 15 January 2016
http://ic.abstracts-online.de/dkou16/submission/de/login.html