Otto Küstner

Who was Otto Küstner?

Otto Ernst Küstner was a German gynecologist.

Initially he studied medicine in Leipzig and Berlin, and during the Franco-Prussian War was a volunteer with the Garde-Füsilier-Regiment. Afterwards, he completed his studies at the University of Halle, obtaining his doctorate in 1873. In 1877 he received his habilitation, and shortly afterwards became an associate professor at the University of Jena. In 1887 he was appointed professor of obstetrics and gynecology in Dorpat, and from 1893 until his retirement in 1923 was a professor at the University of Breslau.

Küstner specialized in operative gynecology and situations involving difficult childbirth. There are a number of medical eponyms associated with him, including an obstetrical extraction hook known as "Küstner's Steißhaken".