Viktor Schmieden

Who was Viktor Schmieden?

Viktor Schmieden was a German surgeon born in Berlin.

In 1897 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Bonn, and subsequently worked in hospitals in Göttingen, Berlin and Bonn. Later he was a professor at the Universities of Halle and Frankfurt.

Schmieden is remembered for his work with Franz Volhard in the establishment of pericardectomy for treatment of constrictive pericarditis. Historically this procedure was referred to as "Schmieden's operation". He also made important contributions towards the treatment of hydrocephalus, and in 1926 identified that polyps of the colon were a precursor of colorectal cancer.