New specialties added to the healthcare portfolio
Semmelweis University has become by far the largest healthcare provider in Hungary. Today, one in ten people in Hungary is treated here, and our portfolio is expanding. After traumatology, this year we have added neurosurgery, neurointervention, and rehabilitation to our profile, with which the Semmelweis Family has also expanded.
One liver saved two lives at Semmelweis University
For the first time in Hungary, the Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Gastroenterology at Semmelweis University performed a liver transplant that saved the lives of two people – a small child and an adult man – by splitting a Hungarian donor organ. Since then, two more so-called split operations have been carried out at the university.
The range of robot-assisted surgeries has been extended
The Da Vinci Xi surgical system is mainly used in abdominal surgery, gynecology, and urology at Semmelweis University. It also plays an important role in education thanks to its dual-console interface. In the 2023/24 financial year, 450 robot-assisted surgeries were performed at the university. With endometriosis surgery, the range of gynecological procedures that can be performed as robot-assisted surgery in professionally justified cases has been further expanded. In many cases, open surgery on abdominal organs can be replaced by the Da Vinci robot, which is located at the Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Gastroenterology.
Parathyroid enlargement treated for the first time with thermoablation
Three patients with benign parathyroid enlargement (adenoma) underwent thermal ablation treatment at the Onco-Interventional Unit of Semmelweis University. The doctors used heat to dissect the abnormally enlarged organ. The treatment conducted in January was the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, allowing all three patients to leave the clinic within a few days. Since then, the program has been running successfully in cooperation with the Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology. In December the onco-interventional unit of the Városmajor Heart and Vascular Center was inaugurated in Baross Street. The center offers a full range of thermal cancer treatments, with a uniquely broad treatment portfolio, and will also play a significant role in education and research.
Life-saving interventions in utero – Fetal Medicine Working Group and ambulance
For the first time in Hungary, an intrauterine intervention involving fetal anesthesia was performed at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Semmelweis University at the beginning of 2024. Thanks to the procedure, it was possible to avoid the baby being born extremely prematurely. The first successful procedure, performed at the Baross Street section, has since been followed by twenty more at the two sections of the department. The Fetal Medicine Working Group welcomes pregnant women from all over the country whose fetuses could be saved by this solution, which is still unique in the country. In the new outpatient unit of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Üllői Street, which opened in December, specialists can perform intrauterine fetal interventions and diagnostics with brand-new ultrasound equipment in a refurbished room and consultation area.
Single-puncture surgery on a patient with metastatic spinal tumor
For the first time in early April, an innovative procedure was performed in the angiography operating room of the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurointervention at Semmelweis University on a young man who needed oncological treatment for vertebral metastasis resulting from skin cancer. The so-called radiofrequency ablation treatment can be used to treat the tumor, stabilize the spine, and perform diagnostic sampling at the same time.
Special reconstructive operations performed by STéG plastic surgeons
The team at the Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Gastroenterology (STéG) performs advanced reconstructive surgery in collaboration with several other clinics at Semmelweis University. Oncological reconstructive microsurgery using tissue or bone from the patient’s body is not only aesthetic but also significantly improves the quality of life. Plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists at Semmelweis University performed a special operation – the first of its kind in Hungary – in which a 15-centimeter nerve was removed from the patient’s lower leg and implanted between a sensory nerve and the cornea so that the patient could regain the cornea’s sensory function. Most commonly used after the removal of malignant tumors of the oral cavity and certain benign tumors, the jaw reconstructive surgery at Semmelweis University can even restore the face and the chewing function to its original state.
Capacity expansion at the Pediatric Center’s Neonatal ECMO Program
A little over a year into its existence, the Neonatal ECMO Program at the Bókay Street Department of the Semmelweis University’s Pediatric Center has already saved the lives of eight newborns with severe lung disease. The center plans to double its capacity by 2025 to become a national care facility for young patients in need of help.
Stem cell transplantation is now available at the Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology
Following years of preparation, autologous stem-cell transplantation has become available at the Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology of Semmelweis University since this summer. In just a few months, 11 such procedures have been performed and stem cells have been collected from 20 patients. As a result, stem-cell transplantation is now offered for adult patients in five centers in Hungary, which could shorten the waiting list and open up the possibility of launching other cell therapy treatments in the long term.
Semmelweis University is the first in Hungary to perform simultaneous liver and pancreas transplantation
It is rare for a patient to need liver and pancreas transplants at the same time. This was the first such surgery performed in Hungary, saving the life of a 16-year-old patient in November. According to the Eurotransplant database, 5-6 such operations are performed annually, mostly in Germany and Belgium. Shortly after the first simultaneous liver and pancreas transplant, another similar surgery was performed at the Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Gastroenterology.
Eszter Keresztes
Translation: Judit Szabados-Dőtsch
Photos by Bálint Barta, Boglárka Zellei – Semmelweis University
