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1930 - Despite the nation's economic woes, Zimmer annual sales top
$200,000. Throughout the Great Depression, Zimmer sales remained
steady and the company suffered no layoffs.
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1930 - German surgeon Dr. Lorenz Bohler popularizes internal bone
fixation devices such as the Steinman pin and the Kirschner nail.
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1931 - Zimmer adds the Steinman pin product line, which is still a
mainstay in traction and external fixation, along with Kirschner
nails, Bohler-Braun splints, and other Bohler devices.
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1931 - Boston surgeon Marius Smith-Peterson also develops a metal
cup for use in partial hip replacement.
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1932 - Sulfa drugs are introduced, adding another key weapon in
medicine's arsenal against infection.
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1933 - The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is formed in
Chicago.
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1933 - Zimmer adds a brace department.
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1936 - A cobalt alloy is introduced into orthopaedic surgery by Drs.
C.S. Venable and W. G. Stuck. It becomes among the most popular
alloys in orthopaedic for many years.
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1938 - British surgeons perform the first total hip replacement.
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Late 1930s - Zimmer introduces Dr. Vernon Luck's powered bone saw,
with a motor and cord that can be sterilized.
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Late 1930s - Zimmer responds to polio epidemic by custom fabricating
braces to patient measurements.
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1939-45 - World War II spurs development of many new materials and
surgical techniques later incorporated into orthopaedic use.
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