Erich Lexer (22 May 1867 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

– 4 December 1937 in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

) was a German surgeon and university lecturer. With Eugen Holländer (1867 - 1932) and

Jacques Joseph Jacques Joseph (born Jakob Lewin Joseph; 6 September 1865 in Königsberg, Prussia – 12 February 1934 in Berlin) was a German doctor. "Nose Joseph" (''Nasenjoseph'') as he was known, is considered a pioneer of rhinoplasty. Joseph was the third chi ...

(1865 - 1934), he is regarded as the pioneer of

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one o ...

, afterwards working as an assistant to

Friedrich Sigmund Merkel Friedrich Sigmund Merkel (5 April 1845 – 28 May 1919) was a leading German anatomist and histopathologist of the late 19th century. In 1875, he provided the first full description of ''Tastzellen'' (touch cells) which occur in the skin of all ...

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

(1891) and to

Ernst von Bergmann Ernst Gustav Benjamin von Bergmann (16 December 1836 – 25 March 1907) was a Baltic German surgeon. He was the first physician to introduce heat sterilisation of surgical instruments and is known as a pioneer of aseptic surgery. Biography ...

(from 1892). Later on, he was a professor of surgery at

Albertina University The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

(1905–1910),

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

(1910–1919) and

Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württ ...

(1919–1928). In 1928 he succeeded

Ferdinand Sauerbruch Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch (; 3 July 1875 – 2 July 1951) was a German surgeon. His major work was on the use of negative-pressure chambers for surgery. Biography Sauerbruch was born in Barmen (now a district of Wuppertal), Germany. He s ...

at the university clinic in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

(1928–1936). He is remembered for his introduction of surgical techniques associated with

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

and

cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

. He is credited for his pioneer research of

forehead lift A forehead lift, also known as a browlift or browplasty, is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to elevate a drooping eyebrow that may obstruct vision and/or to remove the deep “worry” lines that run across the forehead. History The first docume ...

surgery as a means to lessen the signs of aging in the upper part of the face. In 1921 he pioneered a technique for mammaplastic surgery, a procedure that later became popular in the 1950s. Lexer is also credited as the first physician to advocate

subcutaneous Subcutaneous may refer to: * Subcutaneous injection * Subcutaneous tissue The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The ...

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

for treatment of

fibrocystic breast disease Fibrocystic breast changes is a condition of the breasts where there may be pain, breast cysts, and breast masses. The breasts may be described as "lumpy" or "doughy". Symptoms may worsen during certain parts of the menstrual cycle due to hormona ...

. Today, the Erich Lexer Clinic for Aesthetic-Plastic Surgery at the Freiburg Medical Centre is named in his honor.

Published works

He was the author of a popular surgical textbook, "''Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Chirurgie''". First published in 1904, it was issued over numerous editions and also translated into English. Other writings by Lexer include: * ''Die Ätiologie und Die Mikro-organismen Der Akuten Osteomyelitis'', 1897 – The etiology and the micro-organisms associated with acute

osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis (OM) is an infection of bone. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The long bones of the arms and legs are most commonly involved in children e.g. the femur and humerus, while the ...

. * ''Untersuchungen über Knochenarterien'', 1904. * ''Die freien Transplantationen'', 1924 – The "free" transplantation. * ''Die gesamte Wiederherstellungschirurgie'', 1931 – The total reconstructive surgery.Google Search
published works

References

1867 births 1937 deaths German surgeons Physicians from Freiburg im Breisgau People from the Grand Duchy of Baden University of Würzburg alumni University of Königsberg faculty University of Jena faculty University of Freiburg faculty Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty {{Germany-med-bio-stub