Abstract
André Bähler ranked amongst the few distinguished Orthopaedic Technicians who gained worldwide recognition in his profession and in the domain of orthopaedics.
His youthful dream of becoming an electrical engineer was not to turn true. The preacher family could not afford it, fortunately as it finally turned out. André took up training in Orthopaedic Technology and quickly mastered the art, superbly.
Highly spirited, and furnished with a good amount of self-confidence, he founded his own firm at the tender age of 22, and made it flourish. He continuously developed new ideas, whether insoles, orthotics or prosthetic sockets. One main field was that of spinal orthoses. The Bähler Brace for treatment of fractures is outstanding through its simple design, and his differential scoliosis orthoses always were a matter of interesting presentations that prompted long discussions. His vast experience in orthotics has been collected in Orthopädietechnische Indikationen, which has found a prominent place on the shelves of every professional library.
He obtained the basics of orthotics from the treatment of polio patients. From the very start, André sought intimate cooperation with orthopaedic surgeons. Already as a trainee in the firm of Rütschi, he never hesitated to tackle a job even in connection with an orthopaedic surgeon known to be “difficult”. The surgeon in particular was Prof. Max Francillon, who later became the director of the Balgrist Orthopaedic Institute (Anstalt Balgrist) in Zurich.
André Bähler collected his most important experiences in close cooperation with the orthopaedic surgeons Prof. Norbert Gschwend and Prof. Heinrich Scheier of the Schulthess Hospital in Zurich.
The GSB Triad (Gschwend, Scheier and Bähler), was not active in orthotics and prosthetics, but in endoprosthetics. Starting with the development of the GSB artificial knee joint, the first elbow replacement soon followed, with special measuring devices and surgical instruments.
After handing over his firm to his long-standing assistant in 1990, André invested much of his time in endoprosthetics, with substantial success.
André Baehler nevertheless found time to represent his profession in national and international organizations. It was the era of founding international and interdisciplinary societies. He was quite accustomed to deal with orthopaedic surgeons.
Initially, he was a co-founder of INTERBOR, the international society of orthopaedic technicians, and headed the society as President for eight years. Soon, he represented this society at the inauguration of the ISPO, the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics in Copenhagen, and was later elected as their Vice-President.
Two years before this, in connection with the Swiss Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (APO, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Prothesen und Orthesen), André Bähler was one of the founders, as President of the Society of Prosthetists and Orthotists.
Amongst the several honours bestowed on him, are the Heine-Hessing Medal from the German Society of Prosthetists and Orthotists (Deutscher Bundesinnungsverband für Orthopädietechnik) in 1979, and the Hohmann Award from the German Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology (DGOT) in 1990, worthy of special mention.
To go back to the beginning, after completing his professional training, André Bähler applied for a job in the Balgrist Institute with the request to be allowed to simultaneously study music at the Music Academy. Again, perhaps fortunately, this request was denied. Music, however, remained his hobby as conductor, pianist and cellist. He also much enjoyed recalling his sporting adventures.
This commemoration would not be complete without remembering his wife Simone. She was the soul of the firm, always at André's side, equally known and loved as André himself. After a long struggle she succumbed to her illness in 1985.
With Olga, three years later, André drew a winner for the second time. She has stood by him in times of health and infirmity. Our wish, on the occasion of his 80th birthday a year-and-a-half ago, was that he would have more time to spare for his beloved Olga, and for music. But alas, his weakened heart could no longer fulfil this desire.