Kamilló Vidakovits was the first professor of the Clinic. Till the end of the 2nd World War surgeons like Prof. István Bugyi and Prof. Ede Hedri as well as Dénes Szabó and Emil Troján, private teachers worked here. The building of the surgical clinic, similarly to other clinics, suffered heavy damages when the railway bridge was under bombardment.

In 1951 the II. Surgical Clinic was established under the leadership of Professor Imre Láng in the building of the Surgical Clinic. Modern neurosurgical ward was organised beside the general and traumatological wards at the new clinic. The Neurosurgical, Orthopaedic as well as the Traumatological Clinic was organised from the previous neurosurgical and traumatological ward as well as from the orthopaedic ward later taken from the I. Surgical Clinic, in a new, 400-bed building. The original institute as the I. Surgical Clinic operated further. Prof. Ferenc Prochnow, as a deputy-in-chief, succeeded Prof. Vidakovits after his superannuation at the end of 1945. His successor was Professor Gyula Jáki (September 9 – March 18, 1958). This year he unexpectedly died. In his time, a notable urological activity went on, beside general surgery.

On May 1, 1958 Professor Gábor Petri was appointed chief of the Surgical Clinic, who had been previously (from 1951) director of the Institute of Surgical Anatomy and Research. In the institutes that had earlier dealt with general and trauma surgery as well as urology, a lot of special surgical fields attained to European standards in the time of his activity. The Institute of Surgical Research moved into the building of the surgical clinic and in this way a unique possibility opened for harmonising research and clinical work.

His succeeding colleagues made a pioneer work: in the field of thoracic surgery Professor Frigyes Kulka, in oesophageal surgery Professor Imre József, in cardiac surgery Professor Gábor Kovács, in dialysis and renal transplantation Professor András Németh, in dialysis Professor György Gál, in colorectal surgery Professor Gyula Baradnay and in vascular surgery assistant Professor János Pepó.

Professor Mihály Boros made a fundamental research work in the field of anaesthesiology and intensive therapy. As a result, the Institute of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy was instituted in 1985. The first Hungarian renal transplantation was carried out under the direction of professors András Németh and Gábor Petri in 1962, who put themselves on record of Hungarian surgery for good.

On January 2, 1982 Professor Sándor Karácsonyi was apponinted chief of the clinic. Under his activity the clinical profiles broadened with the introduction of liver and pancreatic surgery. In 1985 the ward of cardiac surgery became independent under the leadership of professor Gábor Kovács. After the withdrawal of professor Karácsonyi Professor Ádám Balogh took over the leadership of the clinic March 1, 1993. Besides the former profiles, the oncological and vascular ones widened and multidisciplinary teams came into existence. June 20, 2004 the present Professor, György Lázár was appointed chief of the Surgical Clinic.

Heads’ Historical Gallery