To Dr. Paul Tessier, M.D=, Dr. h. c., on the occasion of his 60th birthday

Paul Tessier celebrated his 60th birthday on the lth of August 1977.

He was the first to be given the honorary membership of our association at its formation in 1970. The laudatio read as follows:

In recognition of his pioneer work and devel- opment of new surgical methods for the manag- ment and treatment of severe cranio-facial de- formities. Paul Tessier was born in Heric (Bretagne) and had his academic training in Nantes. From 1944- 1949, he was assistant to Dr. Ginestet in Surg6ry at the Centre de Chirurgie Maxillo-Faciale de la Region Militaire de Paris. Since 1950, he has been head of Plastic Surgery and of the Department for Treatment of Burns at the Foch Hospital in Suresnes near Paris; he also runs a private clinic in Paris.

Early in his professional life, he became inter- ested in the orbital region. Evidence of this inter- est is manifest in his many publications referring to this region. A number were written in co- operation with his ophtalmological colleagues.

International recognition came in Rome in 1967 when he reported on his experiences over many years, relating to upper midface osteotomies. He recalled once more the principles of Sir Harold Gillis whose student he had been for a few months. According to Sir Harold, in cases of re- positioning of the whole midface, the latter is mobilized as in a Le Fort I I I fracture and brought forward. Concurrently, his other publications pioneered new surgical methods. He demonstrated the procedure of total mobilization of the orbit with transcranial approach for correction of hypertelorism. As a result, Paul Tessier became a leading authority on deformities of the upper face. Over a period of many years, his sub- sequent publications and personal communi- cations kept us informed about his modifications and corrections of the original method. These were the logical outcome of his approach to his work. His penetrating preoperative analyses of each individual case, the anatomical findings during preparation, and critical self-analysis

allowed him to aim for the optimum result in every patient. Many of his soIutions were un- expected combinations of his various procedures.

It is greatly to his credit that Paul Tessier has always been concerned that as many patients as possible should benefit from his knowledge and experience, as soon as possible. On extensive journeys in Europe, America and Asia, he did not just demonstrate his extraordinary surgical skills, but he also familiarized whole operative teams with the problems of cranio-facial surgery. At the same time, one should not forget that apart from treating severe cases of cranio-facial deformities, he also worked with success in other areas of plastic surgery, particularly in that of the face. His great talent brought him recognition and honour. So far, the greatest honour has cer-

320 Laudatio Dr. P. Tessier

tainly been the award of the doctor honoris causa by the University of Lund, in Sweden. Paul Tessier is now 60 years old. He finds him- self in the midst of his work and there is no telling when he will slow down. During the many years of his intensive, fruitful work, he has gathered a lot of clinical experience and developed and perfected many new ideas.

As yet, too little of this knowledge has been published. We, his friends and disciples not only hope that he will go on working with success, but that he will also find the time to write down his thoughts and results of his wide experience. This would indeed be a great help and a pleasure to his many followers. "Ad multos annos!"

Hugo L. Obwegeser Hans Peter M. Freihofer