[History of Internal Fixation of Fractures in the Czech Lands].

The beginnings of osteosynthesis (OS) in the Czech lands, dating back to the second half of the 19th century, are associated with the German surgeons W. Heine and C. Gussenbauer working in Prague. Development of the Czech musculoskeletal surgery began with the appointment of K. Maydl to the head of the Czech University Department of Surgery in Prague in 1891. In 1908, his pupil K. Kukula published the first "OS manifesto" in the Czech literature, including his own original method of fixation of diaphyseal fractures with a magnezium peg. Further development of OS of fractures came as late as in the 1920s. The first to publish his own results in a cohort of 37 patients was K. Šantrůček, followed by V. Novák. At the beginning of the 1930s, A. Jirásek presented an extensive review of the issues concerning OS of fractures based on his experience obtained from 476 operations. In 1939, J. Zahradníček published an extensive study focused on non-unions, including his own classification that was later modified by Weber and Čech. In 1941, E. Polák published the first Czech monograph dealing with nailing of femoral neck fractures. Immediately after World War II, development of intramedullary osteosynthesis took place, surprisingly first in peripheral departments. In the 1950s, osteosynthesis further progressed. Worth mentioning is the nail designed by A. Pavlík, who is known worldwide as the author of the harness used in management of DDH. Instrumental in introduction of AO principles into the clinical practice were O. Čech and F. Stryhal, who became familiar with the technique of stable OS during the 1960s. In 1972, they published an original Czech textbook of osteosynthesis, merely 9 years after the first AO textbook. In 1973, O. Čech together with B.G. Weber won worldwide recognition for their monograph Pseudarthrosen. During the 1970s, domestic production of implants was established in cooperation with S. Beznoska from Poldi Kladno. At the turn of the 1980s, operative treatment of fractures in our country reached the European level. Key words: osteosynthesis, history, operative treatment of fractures, Czech Republic.