History of the German Society of Oromaxillofacial Surgery

Abstract

The German Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was founded by Martin Wassmund in 1951. One of the main reasons was the need for scientific representation in the council at a medical convention. The Society, originally composed of 52 members, was first called "The German Society of Maxillofacial Surgery". In 1972, it extended its title to include the term "oral" ("Mund") and currently comprises 620 members. A scientific conference is held annually on a specific topic. The lectures given there have been published since 1954 in "Fortschritte der Kiefer- und Gesichts-Chirurgie" (Progress in Maxillofacial Surgery) by Thieme Verlag; since 1997, they have appeared as a Springer-Verlag supplement. Topics of choice are published in "Mund-, Kiefer- und Gesichtschirurgie" ("Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery"), originally by Hanser in Munich and now by Springer-Verlag in Heidelberg. In this manner, it was possible to completely document the scientific activities and progress in this specialty. Each year since 1957, a prize named after M. Wassmund, has been given for outstanding scientific accomplishment. The presidents, convention locations, topics, and prizewinners are listed in a table. Since the founding of the Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, close cooperation has existed with the National Association of German Oral and Maxillary-Facial Surgeons (Bundesverband der Deutschen Arzte für Mund-Kiefer-Gesichts-Chirurgie). In order to intertwine scientific and political interests, a fusion of these two organizations is planned for the year 2000.