Ernst Bodner, born on October 31, 1933 in Innsbruck, studied in Innsbruck and Würzburg. Appointed Full Professor of Surgery in Innsbruck in 1979, he served as Head of the Second University Department of Surgery from 1979 to 1998 and as Head of the Clinical Division of General Surgery from 1998 to 2002. Ernst Bodner can point to an extensive scientific body of work that encompasses not only the entire field of gastroenterological surgery but also extends into basic medical research. During his two-and-a-half-year training period at the Institute of Pathology of the University of Innsbruck (1959–1961), his first three scientific publications on morphological topics were produced. After completing his basic surgical training—during which he published primarily in the field of vascular surgery—Ernst Bodner increasingly focused on visceral surgery and introduced a number of then‑novel operative techniques in biliary and pancreatic surgery at the Innsbruck clinic.

He earned his habilitation with a thesis on intraoperative fine‑needle biopsy and cytologic diagnosis of pancreatic tumors—a technique that was being developed simultaneously in Scandinavia but was otherwise still unknown worldwide. In parallel, Ernst Bodner refined the operative technique of pancreatic head resection into an oncologically appropriate standard procedure, described it in the most modern German‑language surgical textbook (G. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart), and is regarded as one of the internationally best‑known and most experienced surgeons in this field.

Ernst Bodner also gained international recognition as a pioneer of ultrasound application for surgery‑specific diagnostic and therapeutic questions. For many years, he and his team were invited to numerous guest lectures as experts in this field. The method of peritoneal lavage—still preferred in the 1980s for detecting intra‑abdominal bleeding after blunt abdominal trauma—was replaced through Ernst Bodner’s initiatives in favor of the much simpler sonographic assessment of intra‑abdominal hemorrhage.

With the introduction of intraoperative radiotherapy for pancreatic carcinoma, he also achieved a globally recognized position of leadership in another area. His various distinguished roles in numerous internationally significant organizations demonstrate that Ernst Bodner is regarded far beyond his home country as one of the leading figures in Austrian surgery.

Students from Ernst Bodner’s relatively small surgical department—until September 1998—were appointed to numerous chief surgeon positions throughout Austria, including Bregenz [Szinic], Bludenz [Schwab], St. Johann in Tirol [Ladurner †], Zell am See [Pointner], BHB Salzburg [Schwammberger], Linz [Aufschnaiter], and Wilhelminenspital Vienna [Glaser], illustrating the broad national recognition of the “Bodner School.”