In 1859 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Dorpat, where he was a student of Friedrich Bidder (1810-1894) and Hermann Guido von Samson-Himmelstjerna (1809-1868).

He continued his education in Berlin and Paris, and in 1860 relocated to St. Petersburg, where he opened a private medical practice and worked as a hospital surgeon.

From 1867 he was head surgeon at the Prinz Peter von Oldenburg children's hospital.

In 1878 he became a professor of surgery at Dorpat, where he served as university rector from 1881 to 1885.

In addition to his surgical duties, he was at the forefront in the fight against leprosy, mental illness and sexually transmitted diseases from a public and medical standpoint.