POS-01.26: The first urological department in Russia

Abstract

It is officially considered that in Russia, urology as an independent branch of surgery was singled out at the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, some special urological instruments (urethral sounds and catheters) were manufactured as far back as the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great. During the rule of Catherine the Second, Russia conquered Turkish territories which used to be the settlement of the Greek colonies in VIII-VI BC. It was there, between Tyra and Olvia, that Odessa was founded in 1797. In 1806, under the command of general governor of Odessa, a Frenchman by the name of Duke Rishelye built a hospital there. In the middle of the 19th century, world-famous Russian surgeons N. Pirogov and N. Sklyfosovsky worked there. It was at that very hospital where the first urological department in Russia (and the third in Europe after Paris and London) opened in 1863. Its creator was a Pole, T. Vdovikovskiy, who was taught urology by Prof. Civiale in Paris. He headed the Department for 26 years, during which time 6,700 patients were treated and 2,500 operations were conducted. From 1878 to 1895 the mayor of Odessa was Marazly, a Greek. At that time, the building of a new hospital by the newest German project was planned. From 1889 to1915 the Department was headed by Maryashes, a Jew. For the past 80 years, the Department has been part of the Odessa Regional Hospital, which serves 2.5M citizens over an area of 33.000 km2. It is easy to follow French, Polish, Greek, Jewish, German traces in the history of Russian Urology. Today again, it is international cooperation that can guarantee progress in our profession.