Karl Chiari
| Born | 1912-06-06 |
| Died | 1982-01-18 |
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Biography of Karl Chiari
Karl Chiari came from an old Austrian family of doctors. He was the great grandchild of Johann Baptist Chiari (1817-1854) and the grandchild of Ottokar Freiherr von Chiari (1853-1918), whose brother was Hans Chiari (1851-1916).
He studied medicine in Vienna and graduated there. In 1962 he became head of the University Orthopaedic Clinic in Vienna, a position he held until his death. In accordance with the tradition of the Adolf Lorenz school, Chiari paid great attention to the problems of congenital dysplasia of the hip, and in 1953 he published his method of pelvic osteotomy, which has subsequently achieved wide renown.
In recognition of his scientific achievements, Chiari was an honorary member of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology, and the Societies for Orthopaedics of the German Democratic Republic, France, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Austria. He was a corresponding member of the Orthopaedic Societies of England, Switzerland and the United States of America. In 1960 he became President of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology and an elected member of the International Hip Society. Between 1864 and 1873 he was president of the Union of Austrian Orthopaedists.
Karl Chiari was mainly interested in clinical work and encouraged his many students and colleagues to take the same approach. Chiari gained the respect of his many patients, not only as a result of his well-founded knowledge in almost all branches of orthopaedics, but also through his ever-present interest in his patients and his ethical approach to medicine.
Obituary written by Professor Dr. Fritz Meznik (1923-2005), Vienna, in International Orthopaedics, 1982, 6: 139.
