Tronnier, Hagen

Born: 14.03.1925; died: 03. 06. 2019 in Dortmund.

Hagen Tronnier was born on 14.03.1925 in Bad Kreuznach/Nahe, went to school in Göttingen. Graduated there in 1943. Followed by 2 ½ years of military service.

After 2 ½ years of military service, he began studying medicine in Göttingen in 1946. After his state examination and doctorate in 1952, he began his dermatology training with HG Bode in Göttingen before taking over the management of dermatology research at Thomae in Biberach an der Riß from 1956 to 1963.

Scientifically, Tronnier was involved early on with problems of skin physiology, the study of which formed a large part of his lifelong work. 1963 Habilitation with W. Schneider at the University of Tübingen. Title: On the mode of action of indifferent ointments and emulsion systems on the skin as a function of their composition. In Tübingen, Tronnier was senior physician and headed the areas of skin physiology, skin pharmacology and allergology.

On October 1, 1972, Hagen Tronnier succeeded Curt Carrié as Chief Physician at the Dermatology Clinic of the Municipal Hospitals in Dortmund. During his time in Tübingen, Tronnier had already developed methods for determining the resonance frequency, erythema measurement and skin hydration in order to specify skin roughness and alkaline neutralization. These methods found their way into occupational dermatology with the development of skin protection, care and cleansing as well as UV protection measures.

As a scientifically oriented dermatologist with excellent knowledge in the fields of physics and electrophysiology as well as physical chemistry and pharmacology, Tronnier further developed the UV therapy of skin diseases in addition to skin physiology and allergology. UV therapeutic procedures such as PUVA and SUP therapy were already being used on patients in Dortmund in 1972, right from the start of his work at his new place of work.

Information from experimental and clinical trials as well as statistics on their results led to groundbreaking findings in the use of the various forms of therapy. Due to his early scientific connection to pharmacology, he, like one of his predecessors Johannes Fabry, was interested in clinical trials of newly developed dermatological preparations, with virustatics and retinoids being representative examples of his work

Dermatohistopathology in Dortmund also continued to develop under Tronnier. In 1985, he established "dermatological immunohistochemistry". In addition to angiology, phlebology and proctology, the clinic's surgical focus became increasingly important in the treatment spectrum of the clinic due to the constantly growing number of skin tumors in the population, especially malignant melanoma.

As a result of this broad specialization, Hagen Tronnier also improved the clinic's structural conditions with new laboratories, outpatient clinics and patient rooms. Hagen Tronnier left behind a modern clinic with 110 beds, comprehensive clinical diagnostics and therapy as well as a nationally recognized focus on occupational dermatology. After his time at the Dortmund Dermatology Clinic, he continued to run the "Derma-Tronnier" Institute, an institute for experimental dermatology, in cooperation with the University of Witten-Herdecke.

1. Beideck S. 100 years of the Dortmund Skin Clinic. Dortmund: Stöcker; 1988