[Skeletons in the cupboard--treatment of Arne Torkildsen]

Arne Torkildsen (1899-1968) developed Torkildsen's operation, the first successful shunt operation treating increased intraventricular pressure in the brain. He defended his doctoral thesis "Ventriculo-cisternostomy" in the University of Copenhagen in 1950, a thesis that had been rejected by the University of Oslo in his home country Norway. He was not found qualified for the post of associate professor in neurosurgery in spite of being recommended by two international adjudicating committees on four occasions. Torkildsen was accused of having misled the university by omitting one third of the operated patients from his thesis. No-one actually called him a cheat, but tales of cheating and infighting between colleagues aspiring to the same academic posts leave a confusing picture. This paper sums up the story and the possible motives different actors might have had for trying to promote or stop Torkildsen's academic career.