Bernhard Nachbur has died at the age of 95. He was a
vascular and thoracic surgeon at University Hospital of Bern,
Switzerland. He was founder and member of numerous
vascular societies in Europe and overseas. Bernhard Nachbur
was a man of high ethical convictions, a personality
with the gift for preserving the good from the traditional
without closing his mind to the better from the present, and
keeping his intellectual curiosity for potential future improvements.
One of the cornerstones of his success was his
conscientious medical practice and well founded medical
expertise. He embodied the ideal image of a responsible
doctor, characterised by an unrelenting high level of personal
commitment and a clear attitude. Modesty was one
of the principal characteristics of his humanity while
treating patients or teaching surgeons.
He was appointed Chief Physician and Vice Director of
the Clinic for Thoracic, Cardiovascular and Vascular Surgery
at University Hospital of Bern. As one of the real pioneers in
vascular surgery, he was cofounder – and later honorary
president – of the Swiss Society for Vascular Surgery in
1987. He was also involved in the founding process of the
European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS), being then
the first chairman of the European Board of Surgery Qualifications
in Vascular Surgery (EBSQ-VASC) exam committee
and he continued to remain deeply committed to this society
even beyond his retirement. We all remember Bernie,
as we called him, as a hearty and warm person with interests
not only in the fate of his patients but also in the
persons he worked with and met in the global vascular
community. He was a great supporter of young talented
trainees in surgery, not only teaching them skills but promoting
their scientific activities and demonstrating values
and attitudes as a surgeon, a scientist, or as a superior. His
great sense of humour made every meeting an enjoyable
event. We will miss him and honour him for his great
contribution to the wellbeing of vascular disease patients.
He was a founding member of AIVS and continued to come
to our meetings well into his retirement
Jürg Schmidli*
Department of Vascular Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
Markus Furrer
Surgical Department, Kantonsspital Graubünden, Chur, Switzerland
*Corresponding author. Department of Vascular Surgery, Bern University
Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.