In the city of Lorenz Beler

Abstract

I was lucky - I won a grant from the Soros Foundation for an internship in traumatology at the Austrian Hospital in Vienna. The Trauma Clinic, which consists of four 30-bed departments, is located in a huge general hospital, which can be compared to a city. On the ground floor of this "city" there are cafes, restaurants, a hairdresser, a bank, a currency exchange office, a post office, a library for employees, a library for patients, three churches (for Christians, Jews and Muslims), various shops, etc. You can live in this city for weeks, without going anywhere and without feeling the need for anything. I did not see only pharmacy kiosks. Probably they are not needed if the hospital has everything. Even "Canadian" crutches are given to all victims for free. And there are a lot of patients with injuries (together with outpatients) - up to 200 per day. Fresh fractures try to operate in the first hours after the injury. All operations on the bones are accompanied by control with the help of an image intensifier from Siemens. Any type of osteosynthesis tends to be performed through small incisions. External fixation devices are widely used, including Ilizarov devices. In general, to the name of our brilliant compatriot G.I. Ilizarov are treated with great respect. The clinic staff is multinational. The leader is Professor Vilmos Vechey, originally from Hungary. Before the tragic events of 1956 in Budapest, he wore a red tie and managed to be a pioneer. Then he emigrated with his parents to Austria, where he made a brilliant career. There are doctors from Iran, India, Ukraine on the staff.