Josep Trueta i Raspall (27 October 1897 – 19 January 1977) was a Catalan surgeon and researcher from Spain.

Biography

Born in the Poblenou neighbourhood of Barcelona, Trueta came from a progressive minded family with medical and military backgrounds (his father was a doctor, his grandfather a military officer and his great-grandfather an Army surgeon). In his youth he felt called to an artistic career, being very keen on painting, and excelled in sports like

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

, but ended up studying medicine in the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

. In the 1920s he temporarily moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to further his studies and it was there that he focused on the development and application of innovative techniques for bone treatments, being considered because of this one of the fathers of modern

traumatology In medicine, traumatology (from Greek ''trauma'', meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. ...

. He started applying his methodologies for the treatment of workplace accidents, being hired as Chief Surgeon for the "''Caja de Previsión y Socorro''", an insurance company that treated 40.000 accident victims annually. In 1934 he developed the "''Método Trueta''", a technique for the treatment of wounded soldiers in the battlefield. His technique was initially considered too risky to be implemented in battlefield conditions and lacked support from other doctors. In 1935 he was named Director of the Surgery service at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona, a position he held during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. During the war, he applied his innovative methods and achieved a significant reduction in bone fracture related infections and a 90% reduction of

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

cases. In 1938, having treated more than 600 battle related fractures without having to resort to a single amputation, he published his first medical text, the booklet "Treatment of War Fractures". As a Catalan nationalist, he fled into exile, first to

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

and from there, after being contacted by the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

, to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1939 an English translation of his 1938 booklet was published as ''Treatment of War Wounds and Fractures, with special reference to the Closed Method as used in the war in Spain'', in London. His work was noted and accepted by the British RAMC, thus influencing British Army medical practice.Watts, Lt Col J. C. ''Surgeon at War'' London 1955 p.18 During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he helped to organize medical emergency services. His use of a new plaster cast method for the treatment of open wounds and fractures helped save a great number of lives and still more limbs, during several wars. Trueta formed part of a group of Catalans exiled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

who denounced the situation of Catalonia in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. He wrote ''The Spirit of Catalonia'', a book aimed at explaining Catalan history to English-speaking society. He joined the team run by Florey and Chain that developed

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and held the first live animal to be injected with the groundbreaking antibiotic. From 1949 to 1966 he was the third Nuffield Professor of

Orthopaedic Surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and directed the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (previously the Wingfield-Morris Hospital). During his career he published 20 books and more than 200 articles not just on surgical techniques, but also on bone development, the treatment of

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

renal circulation The renal circulation supplies the blood to the kidneys via the renal artery, renal arteries, left and right, which branch directly from the abdominal aorta. Despite their relatively small size, the kidneys receive approximately 20% of the cardiac ...

. On his retirement in 1966, he returned to

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

with his wife Amèlia. Both were buried (in 1977 and 1975 respectively) in Santa Cristina d'Aro. The main hospital of

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, Josep Trueta University Hospital, was named after him, as are streets in many towns across

. Every year the government of

awards Trueta medals and plaques to professionals and institutions that excel in the Catalan medical field. Trueta_monument_devant

References

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External links

The Spirit of Catalonia. Josep Trueta. 1946 - Digital edition JosepTrueta.com Personal papers and books of Josep Trueta are kept in the Biblioteca de Catalunya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trueta i Raspall, Josep 1897 births 1977 deaths Scientists from Catalonia Physicians from Catalonia Members of the Institute for Catalan Studies Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford Spanish exiles Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom