Dr. Paul F. Vietz, a Carroll County obstetrician-gynecologist who with his workfellow Dr. T. Samuel Ahn was the archetypal doc successful the state to execute a surgical process for hysterectomies that allowed the removal of the uterus without immoderate large surgical incisions, died of a humor upset Oct. 23 astatine his Westminster home. He was 91.
“This surgical method was fashionable successful the 1980s successful Europe but not here, and present it’s done everyplace and it’s precise popular,” said Dr. Ahn, a retired OB/GYN, who was a surgical spouse with Dr. Vietz, successful a telephone interview. “A accepted country for a hysterectomy tin effect successful a longtime betterment for the diligent whereas our process has a large payment for the diligent due to the fact that they retrieve a batch quicker.”
Paul Fritz Vietz, lad of Fritz Vietz and Hildegard Pietsch Vietz, was calved successful Berlin. His begetter was drafted into the German Army and killed during World War II, and his parent died astatine an aboriginal property of endometriosis, leaving him an orphan.
Raised successful Berlin by his grandmother, Dr. Vietz was a postgraduate of Leibnitz Oberrealschule, and due to the fact that of his mother’s death, helium decided to prosecute a aesculapian vocation successful obstetrics and gynecology, household members said.
A postgraduate of the Free University of Berlin, successful the aboriginal 1950s, Dr. Vietz studied for a twelvemonth astatine Bard College successful Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, arsenic an speech student, and past returned to Germany wherever helium completed aesculapian school, besides astatine the Free University of Berlin.
He completed an internship successful gynecology successful Glens Falls, New York, and erstwhile again returned to Germany wherever helium joined his precocious schoolhouse sweetheart, the erstwhile Sigrid M. Jackisch, successful 1958. The mates spent their honeymoon en way to Baltimore wherever helium completed a residency successful obstetrics and gynecology astatine Union Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Vietz established an OB/GYN signifier successful Westminster. Interested successful the latest treatments for his patients, helium became fascinated with what is known contiguous arsenic minimally invasive surgery, oregon laparoscopy, which was a processing tract astatine that time.
He studied and collaborated with Dr. Kurt Karl Stephan Semm astatine the University of Kiel successful Germany, who is the acknowledged “father of modern laparoscopy and pelviscopy,” and developed what is known arsenic CISH, which is the acronym for classical intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy, and designed the surgical instruments required to execute the procedure.
The astir communal causes of hysterectomies see abnormal bleeding, fibroid tumors and pelvic inflammatory disease.
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Dr. Vietz and Dr. Ahn went to Germany to larn however to execute CISH with Dr. Semm and brought the method to what is contiguous Carroll County Medical Center, wherever successful December 1991, they performed the archetypal CISH successful the country, according to a 1994 nonfiction successful The Sun.
“The cognition allowed the removal of the uterus with nary large surgical incisions and preserves the outer walls of the cervix,” reported the newspaper. “It removes the uterus without the abdominal vaginal incision diagnostic of accepted hysterectomies.”
“In our judgment,” Dr. Vietz told the newspaper, “this is the gentlest hysterectomy we tin provide. It is minimally invasive country and organ-preserving surgery.”
The process required connected the surgeon’s portion a precocious level of manual dexterity, The Sun observed.
“If immoderate doctors don’t larn properly, they’re going to marque a batch of mistakes,” Dr. Ahn told The Sun successful 1994. “That applies to each kinds of endoscopic [laparoscopic] surgery.”
The country begins utilizing instruments that Dr. Semm had designed with 3 tiny incisions astatine the navel and pubic hairline. A thin, hollow conduit bearing the laparoscope’s camera is inserted, and allows the surgeon to spot the abdomen done a tiny hole.
A TV show picks up the representation and allows the surgeon performing the cognition to region the uterus without making ample surgical incisions, which prevented scarring and promoted a quicker recovery.
“After cutting the uterus escaped of surrounding tissues, the doc inserts an instrumentality done the vagina to ‘core’ retired the halfway of the cervix — the portion astir susceptible to cancer,” The Sun reported. “Then a sharp-edged instrumentality is inserted done 1 of the incisions to chopped the uterus into tiny pieces and suction it retired done a tube.”
The different payment was that the country “preserved a information of the cervix, the surrounding ligaments and muscles — which enactment the pelvic level — are near untouched,” reported The Sun. “These muscles play a relation successful preventing bladder problems.”
Dr. Vietz told the newspaper, “If a pistillate has a steadfast cervix, I person nary crushed to interaction it oregon region steadfast tissues.”
“Dr. Vietz was a precise bully antheral and precise caring erstwhile it came to his patients. They ever came first,” Dr. Ahn said successful the interview. “He was precise disciplined, accomplished and got bully results. He worked hard for his patients and was a precise bully doctor.”
Dr. Vietz and Dr. Ahn maintained abstracted OB/GYN practices.
“We worked unneurotic successful country and were conscionable 2 docs helping each different retired doing this surgery,” Dr. Ahn said.
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In the operating room, Dr. Vietz was each business.
“As I said, helium was precise disciplined, and during country helium didn’t speech a batch oregon archer jokes, which sometimes could scare the OR nurses,” Dr. Ahn said. “But, erstwhile the enactment was done, helium was the precise warm, affable outgoing idiosyncratic that helium was.”
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In 1994, the 2 surgeons published an relationship of their pioneering enactment successful the February 1994 contented of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“They were pioneers, but the process has since evolved, and contiguous we’re much apt to region the cervix,” said Dr. Michael P. Vietz, his son, who is an OB/GYN, and seat of the OB/GYN section astatine St. Agnes Hospital, and a Westminster resident.
While helium had fixed up country and delivering babies, Dr. Vietz continued to signifier until recently.
He was joined by his wife, a histologic technician, who worked with her hubby from the clip helium established a backstage signifier until they shuttered it 2 years agone due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic and retired.
The elder Dr. Vietz, who was a philatelist and an avid reader, besides enjoyed keeping up to date with his aesculapian acquisition and listening to classical music. He and his lad besides shared a emotion of photography.
Services were held Nov. 1 astatine Pritts Funeral Home successful Westminster.
In summation to his woman of 64 years and son, Dr. Vietz is survived by his daughter, Martina M. “Tina” Saboury, of Westminster; a sister, Anita Augustin of Berlin; and 2 grandchildren.
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