The history of Paediatric Urology in Hungary.

Agoston Csontai
Budapest, Hungary

Hungary is the second country in the Europe after France, where urological surgery began to be endependent and separate from general surgery. Excellent Hungarian urologists did a pioneering job in diagnosis as well as in surgical interventions. Until the 1950’s there had been only rather limited resources for urological treatment of the newborns and children. The reasons for these were: the lack of well qualified experts, no background of anaesthesiology and intensive treatment, no endoscopy instruments.
At the Urology Clinic of Budapest University of Medical Science, it was Vondra who dealt with paediatric urology for the first time. Among his activity as special team grew up, which mastered the profession at an ever increasing level. The rapid development of diagnostic and surgical operation technique had its effects on the paediatric urology as well.
In 1973, in Heim Pal Children’s Hospital, Budapest, the first independent paediatric urology department was established with 13 beds. The head of this new unit was Jozsef Toth. A team of experts, able to handle special tasks excellently, was brought up under his direction.
Since 1988 the department works with 30 beds and performs the most state –of –the art open and enoscopic operations in the country with full diagnostic background. However, there are no more paediatric urology departments in Hungary most of the cases are done by paediatric surgeons.