Niels Lauge-Hansen

Biography

• Born on May 21, 1899 in Jerne Parish, Ribe County, Denmark and christened Niels Hansen
• 1918–1923 – Studied medicine in Copenhagen; lived as a lodger at multiple Copenhagen addresses (with periods back in Jutland).
• 1925 – Completed medical studies, University of Copenhagen
• 1926-1927 – Navy officer with expeditions to Iceland and the Faroe Islands
• 1930 – Married Anna Margrethe Junker Dreiø in Odense, Denmark (October 31). Listed as a doctor in Svendborg, living with household staff
• 1933 – Son born (Odense): Hans Søren Lauge Hansen (October 26, 1933- August 6, 2003).
• 1942 – Published thesis ‘Genetisk diagnose og reposition: experimental-chirurgiske og radiografiske Undersøgelser; Repositionsforsøg i Kliniken.’ whilst working at the Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen
• 1943 – Head of radiology department, Central Hospital, Randers
• 1948 – published ‘Fractures of the ankle; analytic historic survey as the basis of new experimental, roentgenologic and clinical investigations’, providing a complete history of ankle fracture management since Hippocrates, forming the basis of his work.
• 1950 – Cadaveric experimental mechanism studies, fixed with a vice and nails, to observe a spectrum of ankle injuries. These were demonstrated in force produced by hand to the hindfoot, and formed the basis of his publication ‘Fractures of the ankle. II. Combined experimental-surgical and experimental-roentgenologic investigations’.
• 1952 – Closed reduction by reversal of injury mechanism in ‘Fractures of the ankle. IV. Clinical use of genetic roentgen diagnosis and genetic reduction’.
• 1954 – Radiographic/genetic diagnosis and mortise/interosseous clear space observations in ‘Fractures of the ankle. III. Genetic roentgenologic diagnosis of fractures of the ankle’.
• 1959–1961 – Worked in Seoul, South Korea; honorary member of the Korean radiology association
• Died on January 28, 1976.

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Medical Eponyms

Lauge-Hansen classification of ankle fractures (1950)

The Lauge–Hansen classification of ankle injury describes rotational ankle fracture patterns based on a proposed sequence of injury to the syndesmosis, malleoli, and collateral ligaments.

In modern practice, it is used less as a “true mechanism witnessed at the bedside” (because patients rarely know their exact foot position), and more as a pattern-recognition framework.

• First word: describes the position of the foot at the time of injury (supination or pronation)
• Second word: describes the deforming force direction (abduction, adduction, or external rotation)

Lauge-Hansen’s classification can be difficult to remember and best reviewed in comparison to the simplified Danis-Weber classification. Awareness of the injury mechanism, enhances interpretation and identification of subtle Lauge-Hansen injury stages.

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Controversies

Date of birth and death

Online summaries and secondary biographies report 1898/1899 as the birth year, date of death as 1976 often with no confirmation of day or month.

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Major Publications

• Lauge N. Fractures of the ankle; analytic historic survey as the basis of new experimental, roentgenologic and clinical investigations. Arch Surg. 1948 Mar;56(3):259-317.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Ligamentous ankle fractures; diagnosis and treatment. Acta Chir Scand. 1949 Mar 23;97(6):544-50.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Fractures of the ankle. II. Combined experimental-surgical and experimental-roentgenologic investigations. Arch Surg. 1950 May;60(5):957-85.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Fractures of the ankle. III. Genetic roentgenologic diagnosis of fractures of the ankle. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med. 1954 Mar;71(3):456-71.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Fractures of the ankle. IV. Clinical use of genetic roentgen diagnosis and genetic reduction. AMA Arch Surg. 1952 Apr;64(4):488-500.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Fractures of the ankle. V. Pronation-dorsiflexion fracture. AMA Arch Surg. 1953 Dec;67(6):813-20.
• Lauge-Hansen N. Early roentgen diagnosis of spastic contraction ring in the uterus (Bandl’s ring) during labor and roentgenographic demonstration of the subcutaneous fat deposits of the fetus (the fat line) and of the placenta. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med. 1955 Aug;74(2):315-22.
• Lauge-Hansen N. The Development and the Embryonic Anatomy of the Human Gastro-Intestinal Tract: a New Basis for the Study of Anomalies of the Gastro-Intestinal Tract. Eindhoven: Centrex Publishing Company, 1960

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References

Biography

• Weißer C. Lauge-Hansen, Niels. Chirurgenlexikon: 2000 Persönlichkeiten aus der Geschichte der Chirurgie 2019: 187
• Bibliography. Lauge-Hansen, Niels. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Kwon JY, Gitajn IL, Walton P, Miller TJ, Appleton P, Rodriguez EK. A cadaver study revisiting the original methodology of Lauge-Hansen and a commentary on modern usage. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015;97:604-9.
• Shariff SS, Nathwani DK. Lauge-Hansen classification – a literature review. Injury. 2006;37(9):888-890.
• Michelson J, Solocoff D, Waldman B, Kendell K, Ahn U. Ankle fractures: The Lauge-Hansen classification revisited. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1997;(345):198-205.
• Tartaglione JP, Rosenbaum AJ, Abousayed M, DiPreta JA. Classifications in Brief: Lauge-Hansen Classification of Ankle Fractures. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015 Oct;473(10):3323-8
• Eponymythology: Eponymous ankle and talus injuries. LITFL