7 minute read
Strumming on the strings of life
Blood vessels in the brain, and musical notes in his head: The life and passions of the neuro-surgeon Peter Winkler from Girlan.
He enjoyed a simple childhood on a farmstead in Girlan. Then Peter Winkler ventured forth to become a neuro-surgeon with an international reputation. After 14,000 operations, the passionate musician proclaims one thing: A wish to return to a quiet life.
First he glances up at the wood-paneled ceiling of the venerable Laurin Bar in the provincial capital of Bozen. Then comes an expression of astonishment and a knowing smile. Peter Winkler grabs his cell phone to photograph the tapestry – or rather, to capture its motif: A human brain. "Not bad! You can see the brain stem, the blood vessels…" The professor is completely at home in his element. Winkler is one of the world's leading neuro-surgeons. A man whose workplace is the seat of human intelligence and thought. A man who has worked in operating rooms around the world, and has taught, researched, and practiced in the U.S., Brazil, South Africa, the nation of Georgia, Portugal, Finland, Switzerland, as well as Germany and Austria. And who now –after retirement – enjoys the red carpet treatment at the Charité, university medicine in Berlin, as an emeritus in Tiflis (Georgia). In his homeland, Winkler has repeatedly invited people to attend the "European Medical Forum of South Tyrol" (see info box).
The loneliness of the operator He has 14,000 operations under his belt – some of them quite challenging. Winkler's work focusses on brain and spinal cord tumors, vascular diseases of the Central Nervous System, degenerative spinal diseases, and epilepsy surgery. "The surgeon suffers an enormous amount of loneliness. You are constantly holding the life of another in your hands. The greater the proximity to the brain stem, the more complex the work becomes. One false move, and your patient is dead or marked for life." Winkler could continue lamenting the gigantic responsibility he bears, but instead finds solace in music.
A self-taught musician in the operating room "I need only three notes, and the mental traffic jam that has built up in my mind for the past ten hours in the operating room simply vanishes," says the enthusiastic musician. "The explanation: Music activates the parasympathetic system, which regulates rest periods and relaxation. The brain and vegetative nervous system shift gears automatically." However, it requires active effort to learn to play a musical instrument. Winkler plays the drums, the saxophone, piano, clarinet, guitar, and wants to soon learn the pan flute. And he teaches himself. It all began at the age of nine, in the Girlan band. The bottom part of his clarinet was always falling off. "So I swore to myself: I'd buy perfect instruments as soon as I could." Today, he has them. And he has become a practiced jazz musician – sometimes playing with the "Peter Winkler Jazz Combo." When he turned 17, Winkler wanted to move to Graz, Austria, to study jazz. That turned into a study of medicine. "As a musician, when I hit the wrong note, it bothers me, but that's all," muses Winkler when pondering his two passions and the fact that becoming a neuro-surgeon meant abandoning a musical career.
Visual aids: Before Peter Winkler operates on his patients, he explains what he is going to do using hand-drawn sketches. Here we see the region of the brain in which music is processed.
Peter Winkler, neuro-surgeon and musician. The physician's respect and the patient's fear Winkler never uses the word "fear." "If you're afraid, you're in the wrong profession." But respect is essential. "Th e better-versed a physician is in anatomy, the more confi dently he can act. Technology and computers are just aids," he explains his motto. Winkler recently wrote on a blood vessel that had never before been described: "It represents a perfect landmark for the operator." Th e neuro-surgeon rejects the idea of "routine procedures." When he operates, the patient on the table is the "most-important person in the world." Th is is an expression not only of the enormous respect which Winkler has for the patient, it also helps calm the fearful patient. He makes anatomical sketches and uses them to explain to the patient what he is going to do. In doing so, he attempts to relate to the patient as to an equal. "Aft er every operation, I reach for the phone and call the next of kin. And I can frequently hear a literal sigh of relief," says the Winkler.
Retirement makes way for a marathon of congresses Winkler felt a relief too when he was fi nally able to relinquish, in March of 2021, the great responsibility he bore as chairman of the Paracelsus Medical Private University of Salzburg. "I sometimes still feel the itch," the 66-year-old confesses: But now it's someone else's turn – and he wants to support those others with his immense knowledge and enormous experience. He has already instructed a thousand neuro-surgeons. And it isn't a matter of merely conveying naked information, but also an understanding of how one must handle the risks and manage the stress.
When he hears the word "pensioner," Winkler winces visibly. Th ough he enjoys the luxury of doing what he wants. But that drives him to attend congresses, symposiums, visit university classrooms – and also to his family in Munich. Th ere, Winkler's wife heads a large ballet school; none of their children has entered the medical fi eld. Th eir daughter Anna-Babette is a ballerina with the English National Ballet in London. Th eir two sons are successful businessmen.
A fearful-beautiful childhood One commonality between the university professor of medicine and the farm boy of times gone by is his modest and reserved lifestyle. Winkler describes his childhood as "fearful-beautiful." Fearful, because his father died while Winkler was still a boy. "My mother was like Brecht's 'Mother Courage.' She had to support eight children by herself. We produced our own food on a small farm. We had some grapes, some pastureland, some livestock," he explains. Th e pretentious modern attitude that one has a "right" to everything grinds his gears. "I don't have a 'right' to anything. I have to earn it!" Th at has always been his maxim. It was this tremendous ambition that drove the half-orphan to work hard and win a provincial scholarship for specially gift ed children. He was a model student in junior high school and high school. One time, during the wine harvest, he had an accident and was put out of commission for six months. "In spite of that, I was the valedictorian of that academic year," he explains grinningly. He can hunker down and thoroughly immerse himself in a topic. Th is thoroughness served him well wherever he went, because "you've got to achieve twice as much abroad." THE OPERATOR IS A LONELY FIGURE, ALWAYS HOLDING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE IN HIS HANDS.
Bridges of the mind Winkler juggles names, fi gures, places, and stories so that it's hard for his listeners to follow. His trick is to use mnemonics. He always keeps a journal: "Th e great thing about that is that you can open your diary and are instantly transported back to an earlier place and time – complete with your mood and little details. Not at all like an electronic scheduler." Now 66 years old, Winkler looks backwards more than forwards. When he travels to South Tyrol, it's like taking a trip into the past. He still has a strong connection, via his siblings, nieces and nephews – and the grapes. But he's less restless nowadays… calmer. Th ough he owns a house in Munich, Winkler feels diff erently about possessions: "I possess only what fi ts into the trunk of my VW Bug: Two saxophones, a clarinet, and my drums."
Health Conference and Jazz&Wine in Girlan
Prof. Dr. Peter A. Winkler is one of the world's leading neuro-surgeons. A "local boy" (born in Girlan), he will be hosting the "Prof. Winkler Health Conference – European Medical Forum of South Tyrol" with renowned medical experts in October. The conference will be held in Girlan. Following that, Winkler will be playing the saxophone and drums at Jazz&Wine where he will appear with internationally known jazz musicians in the "Peter Winkler Jazz-Combo." For Prof. Dr. Peter Winkler, operations on brain and spinal cord tumors, vascular diseases of the Central Nervous System, and degenerative spinal diseases were a day-to-day matter.
