DUSHANBE, April 2, 2009, Asia-Plus  - German surgeon Edgar Biemer, who arrived in Dushanbe on March 30, has performed some 20 plastic and reconstructive operations here over the past two days, Mirali Odinayev, a surgeon with the republican center for Reconstructive Surgery, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“Operations were performed at the center,” said Odinayev, “Operations are performed free of charge; Professor Biemer will stay in Dushanbe till April 4 and he has advised more than 60 patients to this date.”  According to him, ten surgeons, three anesthesiologists and 10 nurses have assisted Professor Biemer.

According the Ministry of Health (MoH), Professor Biemer has arrived in Dushanbe every year since 2001 within the framework of cooperation with the ministry.  Over this period, German surgeon has performed more than 200 plastic and reconstructive operations in Tajikistan.  Tajik reconstructive surgeons have made significant success over the past year years due to close cooperation with their German colleagues.

Born in Frankfurt/Germany (1940), Edgar Biemer studied Medicine at the University in Frankfurt, Vienna and London and finished with M.D. degree 1966.  After training in General Surgery he specialized in Plastic Surgery.  Since 1973 Professor Biemer was working at the Department for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Technical University in Munich.  Further training he received in Plastic Surgical Centers in Scandinavia like Uppsala, Göteborg and in the United Kingdom and United States. In December 1977 he received the academic degree of Dr. med. habil. and finally he was appointed as a Professor for Plastic Surgery“ in 1985. 1986 he was appointed for the Head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as „Extraordinarius“ of the Medical Faculty.

Since 1974 one of his main interest was microsurgery, which let to establish the first Replantation Center in Germany in November 1975 and also a respected Center for free tissue transfer. Since that time he is organizing instructional courses for microsurgery all over the world and regularly in Munich.

In 1994 – 1995 Professor Biemer was President of the German Association of Plastic Surgeons and founder and the first President of the “German Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon. 

After years of preparation he did with his team the worldwide first Doppelarmtransplantaion in July 2008. German farmer who lost both his arms in an accident was successfully fitted with two new limbs in what is believed to be the first complete double arm transplant.  For this Professor Biemer was awarded with the Heinz Maier Leibnitz Medal of the Technical University Munich.