Robert Merle d’Aubigné, 1900–1989

This biographical sketch of R. Merle d’Aubigné corresponds to the historic text, The Classic: Functional Results of Hip Arthroplasty with Acrylic Prosthesis, available at DOI 10.1007/s11999-008-0572-1. Robert Merle d’Aubigné was born in 1900 in Neuilly, from a Huguenot family [9]. He had a classical education at the Lycée Pasteur [5] and at age 17 wanted to enlist in the tank corps, but with two brothers in the service and his mother objecting, he ‘‘yielded to my mother’s wishes’’ [5]. During WWI, his school was, however, turned into a hospital, where he met Dr. Philip D. Wilson, Sr. He finally was called to service in 1918, two months before the Armistice. He had his medical training at the Medical Faculty in Paris, but found it ‘‘disappointing.’’ He later commented, ‘‘...Misery, resignation, and death on one side, pretension and highfalutin speech on the other, was the most common spectacle’’ [5]. (Merle d’Aubigné was fluent in English.) He then served as an assistant in general surgery for 12 years at the Hôpital de Vaugirard, during which time he developed an interest in orthopaedic surgery. ‘‘The prestige of visceral surgery absorbed the interest of the senior staff. The lesions of the motor system, numerous accidents, tuberculosis, and arthritis were more or less abandoned to the junior staff’’ [5]. In the thirties he spent time with Böhler in Vienna and Putti in Bologna. During WWII he initially served as a captain in a mobile unit, but during the occupation balanced his life as a surgeon and serving in the Resistance [9]. When De Gaulle returned to France in 1944, Merle d’Aubigné was appointed at the newly formed health commission to reorganize the health military services. While not entirely happy with his administrative work, in December, 1944 he went to England to visit prominent surgeons. This trip had a major influence on his life: first he met influential people and second he had a better sense of Prof. Robert Merle d’Aubigné is shown. Reprinted with permission and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins from Merle d’Aubigné R. Surfing the wave: fifty years in the growth of French orthopedic surgery. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1982;171:3–23. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11999-008-0571-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. D. J. Biau Hôpital Cochin, Paris, France R. A. Brand (&) Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1600 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA e-mail: [email protected] 123 Clin Orthop Relat Res (2009) 467:2–6 DOI 10.1007/s11999-008-0571-2