165 years since the birth of Henry Ivanovich Turner

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“Medicine is love. Otherwise, it is worth nothing.”

Henry Turner

Henry Ivanovich Turner was born on September 29 (September 17, old style), 1858, in St. Petersburg in the family of the English engineer John Turner who moved to Russia. After graduating from the First St. Petersburg Gymnasium in 1876, he enrolled at the Medical–Surgical Academy that he graduated with honors in 1881. At the invitation of K.K. Reier, he began practicing surgery.

Henry Ivanovich Turner worked as an assistant at the surgical hospital of the Alexander Community of Red Cross Nurses and the surgical department of the Nikolaev Military Hospital for which he had a good school of practical training. He also paid great attention to scientific research and defended his PhD thesis in 1892.

In 1895, the academic council of the Medical–Surgical Academy awarded him the title of privat-docent. One year later, he became a professor in the Department of Desmurgy and Mechanurgy of the Imperial Military Medical Academy. He carefully studied innovative technologies and applied teachings to practical situations, often conducting classes in the operating room.

Thanks to his initiative and perseverance, the Department of Desmurgy and Mechanurgy transformed into an orthopedic department. Following his introduction of orthopedics into the teaching program of the Military Medical Academy, he secured the recognition of this new independent branch of surgery. The grand opening of the first orthopedic clinic in Russia with an outpatient clinic took place on March 25, 1900.

Henry Ivanovich Turner had great merits in the training and professional development of military doctors. He believed that to provide appropriate assistance to the wounded in war and organize their treatment, military field surgeons must be trained in peacetime conditions. In the orthopedic clinic, hundreds of doctors received the knowledge necessary for practical work in the Red Army.

SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE

Professor Henry Ivanovich Turner is deservedly considered the founder of Russian orthopedics because it was he who determined its main theoretical and practical directions of work, made a huge scientific contribution, and laid the basic foundations for the further development of this specialty in Russia.

Professor Turner’s research left a noticeable mark in the world scientific literature that almost entirely focused on orthopedics, namely, curvature of the femoral neck, traumatic epiphysiolysis, a new method of knee arthrodesis, ankylosing spondylitis, manifestations of the body’s defenses during tuberculous spondylitis, and march foot fractures. In his scientific works, H.I. Turner emphasized the role of prosthetics in restoring the loss of the ability to work in the overall treatment regimen of patients with orthopedic problems, pointing out that the success of the entire therapeutic process involves the correct combination of orthopedic treatment and prosthetic support. Studies concerning congenital anomalies of the spine and the mechanism of spondylolisthesis development are important.

H.I. Turner constantly maintained close scientific ties with scientists from other countries and actively participated in various congresses, conferences, and symposia in the orthopedic and surgical fields.

SAVIOR OF CHILDREN

Henry Turner devoted himself to helping and restoring the working capacity of children with physical disabilities, and for many years, he participated in the activities of an orphanage in St. Petersburg. In 1932, the H.I. Turner Institute for Restoring the Working Capacity of Physically Handicapped Children was established at the medical educational institution on Lakhtinskaya Street, and it became the organizational and methodological center to combat childhood crippling in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the institute was used as a base for training personnel in pediatric orthopedics, and its employees regularly traveled to all regions of Russia.

Professor Turner attached great importance to the education and upbringing of pediatric patients with musculoskeletal disorders, who were forced to remain on bed rest in a hospital for a long time. He believed that a musculoskeletal defect should not be a reason for the withdrawal of a child from social life.

At the institute, patients studied general education subjects, practiced music, singing, drawing, floriculture, and attended a drama club.

Henry Turner said more than once that difficulties only strengthen a person. He not only worked hard and was a great storyteller but also had a wonderful sense of humor. He wrote mischievous fairy tales for children and lyrical stories for adults. One of the fairy tales was included in the first collection of the book series “Turner’s Fairy Tales” published by the H. Turner National Medical Research Center for Сhildren’s Orthopedics in 2022. In addition to Henry Turner, the authors of these stories included in the collection were employees of the National Medical Research Center, patients, and their parents. Fairy tale illustrations were created by patients receiving treatment in a hospital, together with teachers of the educational unit and parents.

The rehabilitation and comprehensive recovery of pediatric patients with congenital and acquired musculoskeletal diseases and injuries is one of the most important social principles of pediatric orthopedics, established by its founder H.I. Turner, which continues to the present.

School No. 409 at the National Center has a structural (educational) unit. At the center, children can receive psychological support, specialist consultations, attend theatrical performances, and visit museum exhibitions. A joint project for career guidance for children was also established. Over the years of cooperation between the medical center and the educational unit, an optimal regimen was developed, organically combines medical procedures and educational classes.

FRIENDSHIP THROUGH CENTURIES

Henry Ivanovich Turner loved children and believed that not only medications and procedures but also the joy of life, smile, and laughter facilitated their recovery. He invited actors from the Leningrad puppet “Petrushka Theater” to the medical institution. Puppets who cheerful, mischievous, funny, and capricious appeared in hospital wards; they played funny performances for the sick children. Both teams, using different means, essentially targeted the same goal of cultivating a joyful sense of life in their students.

True friendship between the theater and the institute remained for many years. Following a good tradition, in 2022, an official cooperation agreement was signed between the H. Turner National Medical Research Center for Сhildren’s Orthopedics of the Ministry of Health of Russia and the E.S. Demmeni St. Petersburg State Puppet Theater. Currently, the bonds are strengthened, the actors come to the national center, and young patients with their parents attend theater performances. A new project for the rehabilitation and treatment of children in the form of puppet therapy has been created.

ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

In 2023, the 165th anniversary of the birth of Professor Henry Ivanovich Turner was held at the National Medical Research Center for Pediatric Traumatology and Orthopedics under the auspices of a major and important event in Russian medicine.

On March 17, 2023, the grand opening of the exhibition “Skillful Forging of Goodness,” dedicated to the anniversary, took place at the Military Medical Museum in St. Petersburg. The exhibition presented items from the personal collection of the outstanding orthopedist, such as manuscripts of lectures and personal drawings, an appeal formulated personally by the scientist. The museum hosts scientific excursions for residents and children’s excursions for patients of the center.

Together with the Military Medical Museum and the Military Medical Academy, work is underway on a new book about the life and scientific works of the founder of orthopedics. Its release also coincided with the anniversary. This work will be a contribution to preserving the history of our institution.

As part of the cultural and rehabilitation program, a joint project with the State Hermitage, “Art Therapy,” was started this year. Museum employees come to the center to give master classes, and young patients attend excursions’ in one of the major global museums, the Hermitage.

Moreover, this year, the center’s specialists conducted several educational seminars and master classes in different regions of the Russian Federation, including Lugansk and Zaporozhye, dedicated to the principles of diagnostics and treatment of children with musculoskeletal injuries and diseases.

The scientific and practical conference “Turner Readings” that brings together specialists from all regions of Russia, is dedicated to the 165th anniversary of Henry Ivanovich Turner.

In 1894, H.I. Turner published the popular book First Aid before the Doctor Arrives. The book tells in clear language the most common injuries, poisonings, and infections, and color figures clearly show the methods and techniques of providing first aid before the arrival of a doctor in military field conditions.

In the year of the teacher and mentor, on the 165th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the national school of orthopedics, the H.I. Turner National Center for Pediatric Traumatology and Orthopedics prepared for the publication of a facsimile edition of the book First Aid in Accidents before the Doctor Arrives as a tribute to the memory of Professor Henry Ivanovich Turner.

It is very difficult to cover all aspects of his work. Turner’s social activities corresponded to the scale of his personality. He was the honorary chairman of the Pirogov Surgical Society, founder and permanent chairman of the Leningrad Scientific Society of Orthopedic Surgeons, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Committee for Assistance to Injured Warriors, an honorary member of the Society for the Care of Poor and Sick Children, Society of Brothers of Charity, and other organizations.

His merits were highly appreciated in Russia and worldwide. The scientific and social activities of Henry Turner, military service, and dedicated service to his homeland and society were recognized with many awards and honorary titles.

Shortly before his death, Henry Ivanovich Turner said, “Looking back at the path I have traveled, I see its beginning so close, although blurred... I cannot believe that I have already grown old, that I have lived what is due to me, and must end my existence on Earth. Life flew by so quickly... However, it would take many pages for me to even briefly outline individual moments of everything I experienced.”

On July 20, 1941, he died shortly after the start of the Great Patriotic War. He was buried at the Bolsheokhtinsky Cemetery. Until the last days of his life, Henry Ivanovich Turner was the honorary director of the institute and continued to advise and share his experience.

Currently, the main medical buildings of the national center are located in a green zone next to the architectural and park reserve of the Catherine Palace in the city of Pushkin. Henry Turner’s cherished dream to build a medical facility for children closer to nature came true. The historical building in St. Petersburg on Lakhtinskaya Street, wherein the consultation and diagnostic center is open for children from all over Russia, is also preserved.

We carefully honor and preserve the traditions originally established by Henry Ivanovich Turner.

Director of the H. Turner National Medical Research Center for Сhildren’s Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, MD, PhD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei V. Vissarionov

About the authors

Sergei V. Vissarionov

Author for correspondence.
Email: vissarionovs@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4235-5048
SPIN-code: 7125-4930
Scopus Author ID: 6504128319
ResearcherId: P-8596-2015

MD, PhD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Professor, Corresponding Member of RAS

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