Message from Dr Cotrel, Founder of the Foundation

My working experience, since my years as a student had been punctuated with unexpected events, which were sometimes traumatic .They puzzled me and led me to an unknown field of action. As I was supposed to be an obstetrician and to settle in Brittany, all of a sudden, I was sent to Berck, in the North of France, to become an orthopedic surgeon.

I stayed for thirty years. 

As I was living among sick people, who were often infants or teenagers, I was sharing their worries, their anxiety but also their hopes.
I grew fascinated with the surgical treatment of spinal deformity. At the age of 50, something changed my future.

I had to stop working definitely (for medical purpose) and I was declared to be in a state of "permanent invalidity".
I was pushed aside from what had been at the core of my daily activities.
This period of inactivity and total isolation were hard to live.

Because I was alone with lots of free time, despite the fact that I had neither qualities nor the training of a scientist or a researcher, and I did not have the financial means to get involved into an ambitious programme of research, but having acquired a real experience, I got back to work in a simple workshop in my house in Britanny.

My plan was to study the possibility to improve the surgical treatment of spinal deviations. This research took three years and ended in the development of a new implantable surgical instrumentation . This instrumentation can both improve the correction of spinal deformities and set what was straightened up.
Because this instrumentation is well stable, the patients can be up and about without plaster or brace, which were required for ten to twelve months after the operation.   

It was introduced in 1983 and developed in collaboration with Pr Jean Dubousset and Michel Guillaumat, MD, the initial idea and the technique of this new instrumentation were quickly adopted by worldwide spinal surgeons.

Nowadays, a lot of people from all age group, and for various reasons, were operated on with this instrumentation or other related instrumentations. This innovation has allowed a lot of progress in spinal surgery. But there is so much to do at the dawn of the third millenium. 

I really want that the means I have today, are used to pursue the research in spinal surgery. I was in this mood, when I stopped working and I decided to create from both sides of the pond, a "Fondation pour la Recherche en Pathologie Rachidienne".

I met throughout the world, a lot of doctors, surgeons and researchers who are deeply involved and interested in improving the quality of treatments for their patients.They are motivated by altruism. Their research programmes have not always the opportunity to be funded by important medical and health organizations or  industrial companies,  supporting  projects that might have financial benefit.
Thus, there are some projects which are undoubtedly valid but which cannot come off  because of the lack of means.

I entrust my colleagues and the most distinguished  friends with the care of selecting and funding the most promising research projects, to follow and promote them. I dedicate this Foundation to my patients of yesterday.

I hope this Foundation will help the patients of today  but also those of tomorrow.
I want to thank the Chancellor of the Institut de France and the representatives of the five Academies, who accepted to host this Foundation under the aegis of the Institut de France.

Paris, January 23rd, 1999