A Bumpy Road to Maintenance Hemodialysis

摘要

After completing my internship, I got my first position as a scientific assistant at the medical clinic of the University of Munich in April 1960. Because there were many more candidates than positions, the salary for the post was divided equally among the four doctors who were selected. Nevertheless, I was overjoyed to be one of the four. In addition to the regular clinical duties as a doctor at the University, it was expected that the scientific assistants should actively participate in a research project. It was possible to choose the topic. I had heard of the Hamburg-based internist Curt Moeller, who had developed the first German artificial kidney, with which he treated patients with acute renal failure. As such, I went to Hamburg and learned how to use his artificial kidney. Following this, our hospital in Munich also acquired a "Moeller Artificial Kidney" (1), which was replaced two years later by the Travenol twin-coil dialyzer.