Sigvard T. Hansen, Jr. Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Traumatology

Est. 1994

The Sigvard T. Hansen, Jr. Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Traumatology was established in 1994. It has created an enduring source of support for the continuation of Dr. Hansen’s life work: improving the care of injured patients.

Sigvard T. Hansen, Jr., has had an extraordinary influence in the field of orthopaedic traumatology. His talent for devising creative solutions to clinical problems is now legendary in the field of orthopaedics, and he has earned a reputation as a brilliant, unorthodox clinician.

One example: Dr. Hansen advanced a bold new technique in the 1960s called closed intramedullary nailing, a method of fixing bones with surgical nails rather than with long-term traction. When Dr. Hansen advanced this technique in the 1960s, orthopaedists in the community were skeptical; some even considered the idea dangerous. This approach has become standard practice across the country.

Early in Dr. Hansen’s training at the University of Washington, his professors recognized that his talent and ingenuity foretold a remarkable career in medicine, and he was offered a faculty position at the School of Medicine before he completed his training. Just four years after finishing his residency in 1973, Dr. Hansen was appointed chief of orthopaedics at Harborview Medical Center. In 1981, Dr. Hansen was named chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the School of Medicine. In 1985, he stepped down from this position to concentrate on teaching and patient care, focusing his clinical practice on treating severe injuries and deformities of the foot and ankle.

A pioneer in orthopaedics, Dr. Hansen retired in 2011.

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