Trauma

Our history traces back to 1939 where Ernst Pohl, an orthopaedic engineer collaborated with local surgeon Professor Gerhard Küntscher to create an intramedullary nail. Their revolutionary method challenged the proven and established procedures of the time. 

Elsewhere in 1939, Dr. Homer Stryker was doing the equivalent, developing a specially designed positioning bed called the Turning Frame—the same year that Professor Küntscher implanted his first intramedullary nail in Kiel, Germany. 

Simultaneously, Raoul Hoffmann designed a new way to reset and fix broken bones without the need for open surgery, and years after, Oswald Leibinger’s company introduced an implant system for craniomaxillofacial surgery made from pure titanium, establishing the technology for small bone plating.

All these stories would eventually converge at Stryker—and that’s why our history is rich. Not because we have one, but because we have many.​

To this day, our R&D teams continue to collaborate with surgeon customers to help in the design of our products. ​This isn’t just one way to innovate. For us, it’s the only way.

Both the length and quality of our legacy is something we take a lot of pride in, and it’s one of the reasons why customers trust our products the way they do. We’ve put the needs of our customers and their patients first. But we don’t just have a history. We’ve made it, with innovations like Gamma, Alpha, Hoffmann and now our newest comprehensive Pangea plating portfolio.

The introduction of Pangea made us a force in plating, ready to meet a world of needs. And today, inspired by the expert care you provide, that force is extending across everything we do. At Stryker, we’re bringing our full product portfolio to the forefront of the industry—plating, nailing, external fixation, everything.​

Now, we’re stepping into the next 85 years—sparking a new era for trauma. We are becoming a force unlike anyone else in our industry and taking our dedication to unrivaled levels.

Stryker people and products are in every corner of the hospital, touching the patient along their entire journey, from incident to discharge, and beyond. So, what makes Stryker different? We match the strength of a fortune 100 company with the agility of a hungry startup. We have 23 dedicated businesses, 53,000 global employees, and consecutive years of straight growth. Yet we are never satisfied. We move faster, go deeper in our specialization and get closer to our customers.

For us, this is personal, because each patient is more than a case. It’s a life that needs to be rebuilt.

For you, this is personal, because each trauma case is urgent and unplanned. We’ll be your trusted partner and confident presence each step of the way.

That’s our commitment. And we’ll do whatever it takes to continue to make healthcare better.