Memorial to Luzius Ruedi MD

Luzius Ruedi died on July 19, 1993, at the age of 93 at his home in Zurich, Switzerland. He was one of Europe's foremost otolaryngologists, highly regarded by his colleagues in the United States, and a treasured friend of many members of the American Laryngological Association, of which he was an honorary member.

Born in Thusis, Switzerland, in 1900, he grew up in Davos, where his father was an esteemed otolaryngologist. It was during those formative years that he was first exposed to the powerful attraction, challenges, and glamour of the surgical specialty to which his future contributions would eventually earn him an international reputation.

After graduation from Zurich University School of Medicine in 1925, he began his postgraduate training in otolaryngology in Vienna with Professor Otto Meyer. He received his residency education in Zurich with Professor Felix Nager. After a few years of a very successful private practice, he joined the faculty and staff of Zurich University School of Medicine and Hospital in 1937, and in 1941 assumed the Chairmanship of Otolaryngology at the University of Bern. In 1948, he succeeded his former teacher Felix Nager as Chairman and Director of Otolaryngology at Zurich University and Hospital, a position he held for 22 years until his retirement in 1970.

Luzius Ruedi was an excellent clinician, a very skillful and innovative surgeon, a gifted clinical investigator, and a very talented and enthusiastic teacher. His clinical astuteness reflected a vast knowledge accumulated from careful observations and insight during his postgraduate education and private practice. As a brilliant surgeon with the foresight to pursue the new developments in surgical techniques, he had the aptitude of recognizing immediately their potential significance. His over 50 contributions to the literature covered many aspects of otolaryngology.

Luzius Ruedi had all the qualifications of a great teacher. The high quality, the art of presenting a particular subject, and the enthusiasm that characterized his formal lectures and less formal discussions on ward rounds fascinated the medical students and had a decisive influence on many in the selection of their future medical specialty.

As was to be expected, several of his trainees assumed important positions in academic and other medical institutions of Switzerland and Europe. One of his students was Professor Ugo Fisch, who succeeded him as Chairman and Clinical Director in 1970.

Promotion of team spirit, fairness, encouragement, and support distinguished Luzius Ruedi's leadership as Departmental Chairman and was characteristic of his relation to his associates and professional and supporting staff. His cheerful, trustful, and reassuring personality was a great comfort to his patients. He had the gift and intuition to help and stand by them in an admirable way through very difficult situations.

Luzius Ruedi was the recipient of innumerable academic honors and awards while always remaining very modest-an attribute of true greatness. He was an honorary member of many American and international societies. He was elected Corresponding fellow of the American Laryngological Association in 1957 and elevated to Honorary fellow in 1968.

Shortly after his retirement, a tragic accident bereaved him unexpectedly of his physical strength and left him totally dependent. He tolerated and endured the progressive loss of muscular control with the most admirable self-discipline, sacrifice, and equanimity. The serenity with which he accepted the enormous burden of his fate without ever a hint of complaint left a profound impression on all who knew him during that period. All his life, his wife Lotti, in her legendary modest and indulgent way, had been his strongest and most loyal support. With the assistance of members of her family, she took care of him in a manner of magnificent devotion and unselfishness, never leaving his side for two decades, that earned her the highest admiration of everyone.

The composure with which Luzius Ruedi mastered his physical handicap while maintaining his brilliant mental faculties will always be remembered, as will his valuable contribution as a great physician, investigator, and teacher.