Albert Hoffa

Albert Hoffa (31 March 1859 – 31 December 1907) was a German surgeon, orthopedist and physiotherapist born in Richmond, Cape of Good Hope.

He studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Freiburg, earning his doctorate with a thesis on nephritis saturnina. In 1886, he opened a private clinic for orthopedics, physiotherapy and massage in Würzburg, where in 1895 he became an associate professor at the university. In 1902 he succeeded Julius Wolff (1836-1902) at the department of orthopedics in Berlin.

Hoffa is remembered for introducing an operation for congenital hip dislocations (1890), as well as for development of a system of massage therapy (Hoffa system). His name is associated with a condition known as "Hoffa's fat pad disease", being characterized by chronic knee pain primarily beneath the patella.

In 1892 he founded the journal Zeitschrift für orthopädische Chirurgie.

Selected writings

 * Lehrbuch der Fracturen und Luxationen für Ärzte und Studierende, 1888 - Textbook of fractures and luxations for physicians and students.
 * Lehrbuch der orthopädischen Chirurgie, 1891 - Textbook of orthopedic surgery.
 * Technik der Massage, 1893 - Technique of massage.
 * Atlas und Grundriss der Verbandlehre, 1897 - Atlas and outline of the teaching association.
 * Die orthopädische Literatur, 1905 - Orthopedic literature.