History of Pediatric Nephrology in Türkiye.

Abstract

This article analyzes the foundation, institutiona-lization, and development of pediatric nephrology in Türkiye. Erich Frank is the pioneer and inspiration for Turkish nephrologists. He pioneered the training of a new generation of modern physicians, the first generation of Turkish nephrologists, and the establishment of the discipline of nephrology. Turkish pediatricians closely followed these developments and tried to improve their knowledge, making an effort to study abroad. These physicians established pediatric nephrology departments in their universities, trained young pediatric nephrologists, initiated pediatric hemodialysis-peritoneal dialysis units, and realized renal transplantation in children. Another pioneer of pediatric nephrology is Prof. İhsan Doğramacı, who established the first pediatric nephrology department at the Ankara-Hacettepe Medical Center in the 1960s. He directed many physicians to pediatric nephrology and provided them education and research opportunities abroad. Pediatric nephrology became a subspecialty in pediatrics in 1983 in Türkiye. Over the years, the number of Turkish pediatric nephrologists has increased; in 1990, they established the Pediatric Nephrology Association. This gave momentum to the standardization of education, better patient care, and scientific studies. Renal biopsies were initiated in 1964, the first pediatric hemodialysis application was conducted in 1974, the first renal transplantation from the living donor was in 1975, and the first continuous peritoneal dialysis was in 1989. With regard to international collaborations, since 2000, a council member from Türkiye has continuously been elected to the executive board of the European Society for Pediatric Nephrology; currently, the European Society for Pediatric Nephrology is led by President Rezan Topaloğlu. Several Turkish pediatric nephrologists have worked in international associations. Today, Türkiye has 107 pediatric nephrology centers, 265 well-trained specialists, 28 hemodialysis units, 39 peritoneal dialysis units, and 26 pediatric transplant centers.