Max Wilms

Biography

• Born 5 November 1867 Hünshoven, Germany
• 1890 – After studying law for a semester he switched to medicine. He completed his doctorate in 1890 at the University of Bonn (Thesis: oesophageal resection)
• 1891 – Assistant to pathologist Eugen Bostroem (1850–1928) in Giessen
• 1891 – Assistant to pathologist Otto Michael Ludwig Leichtenstern (1845–1900) – Institute for Pathology of Cologne
• 1907 – Professor of surgery at Basel
• 1910 – Chair of surgery at the University of Heidelberg.
• 1918 – In May Wilms performed a cricolaryngotomy on a French P.O.W. with a swollen larynx secondary to diphtheria. The French officer survived, but Wilms became infected with the disease, and died a few days later.
• Died 14 May 1918 Heidelberg, Germany

Key Medical Attributions:

• 1899 – Wilms examined children’s kidney tumors, added seven cases to a thorough review of the literature, and produced what was the definitive work on the subject – Die Mischgeschwülste der Niere.
• Introduced the partial rib resection used in the treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis
• Introduced perineal prostatectomy via lateral incision
• Extensive work in the field of radiology, using radiation therapy for treatment of tumors and tuberculosis.

Medical Eponyms

• Wilms tumour – as a result of his extensive work involving renal tumors the eponymous name for ‘nephroblastoma’ is Wilms tumour
• Wilms operation I – Perineal prostatectomy through a lateral incision (shorter operation, less bleeding)

Controversies

• 1814 – Earliest record of Wilms tumour
• 1872 – First convincing histological reports
• 1879 – William Osler published four cases found in the literature plus two of his own. [1880;14(2):229-233]
• 1898 – Felix Victor Birch-Hirschfeld (1842-1899) published a detailed description in Sarkomatöse Drüsengeschwülste der Niere im Kindesalter (Embryonales Adenosarcom)
• 1899 – Max Wilms described seven cases and acknowledged his debt to Birch-Hirschfeld and other predecessors.

Major Publications

• Wilms M. Uber Resection des Oesophagus, Inaugural-Dissertation, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhems-Universitatz u Bonn, Universitats-Buchdruckerei von Carl Georgi, Bonn, 1890.
• Wilms M. Diagnostischer und therapeutischer Werth der Lumbalpunction. Druckbestimmung mit Quecksilbermanometer. Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift 1897;3:53-57
• Wilms M. Die Mischgeschwülste. I. Die Mischgeschwülste der Niere. Leipzig: Von Arthur Georgi; 1899. [Wilms tumour]
• Wilms M. Zur Frage der Gefassverletzungen der Radix Mesenterii. Münchener medizinische wochenschrift 1901;32:1277-1279
• Wilms M. Tragfahige Amputationsstumpfe mit Sehnendeckung. Vcrhandlungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Chirurgie. Dreiunddreissigster Congress abgehalten zu Berlin April 6-9, 1904:136-137
• Wilms M. Der Ileus. Pathologie und Klinik des Darmverschlusses, Stuttgart, 1906
• Wilms M. Die Erfolge der nach meiner Methode ausgefuhrten perinealen Prostatektomien mit seitlichem Schnitt. Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift 1912;47:2548-2550
• Wilms M. Heilen die Rontgenstrahlen die Prostatahypertrophie? Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift 1916;30:1073

References

• Birch-Hirschfeld FV. Sarkomatöse Drüsengeschwülste der Niere im Kindesalter (Embryonales Adenosarcom). Beiträge zur pathologischen Anatomie und zur allgemeinen Pathologie, 1898, 24: 343-362.
• Osler W. Two cases of striated myo-sarcoma of the kidney. Journal of Anatomy and Physiology 1880;14(2):229-233
• Raffensperger J. Max Wilms and his tumor. J Pediatr Surg. 2015 Feb;50(2):356-9. [PMID 25638637]
• Zantinga AR, Coppes MJ. Max Wilms (1867-1918): the man behind the eponym. Med Pediatr Oncol. 1992;20(6):515-8. [PMID 1331729]
• Ellis H: Eponyms in Oncology: Max Wilms (1867-1918). Eur J Surg Oncol 1896;12:31 [PMID 3019781]
• Coppes-Zantingal AR, Coppes MJ. Max Wilms and “Die Mischgeschwülste der Niere”. CMAJ. 1999 April 20; 160(8): 1196. [PMC1230278]