1970
In January 1970, in Minsk, with the direct participation of employees of the Department of Pediatric Surgery of MGMI and the Department of Pediatric Surgery of BelSIAMT, a multidisciplinary pediatric surgical institution of national importance was established under the leadership of Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Oleg Severyanovich Misharev, including 5 specialized departments: emergency, planned, thoracic, purulent and traumatology. In particular, the first department of pediatric intensive care and intensive care in Belarus was opened in the Children’s Surgical Center, whose activities were carried out with the direct participation of the staff of the course (since 1975), and then the Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (since 1989).
The actual tasks that faced the staff of the Children’s Surgical Center at that time: reducing mortality from acute appendicitis, improving the diagnosis and treatment of purulent surgical diseases, congenital malformations, injuries in children and many other problems. As part of solving these problems, three-stage treatment of patients with appendicular peritonitis was proposed: preoperative preparation, surgery and postoperative intensive therapy, the clinic developed a technique for early diagnosis and treatment of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, which contributed to the elimination of mortality and a decrease in the number of disabled children, significant progress has been achieved in the treatment of children with congenital malformations of the digestive tract, chest organs, traumatic injuries.
1975
To improve the results of treatment of children with purulent septic diseases, in 1975, a laboratory for the study of homeostasis in purulent infection in children was organized at the Department of Pediatric Surgery of the Minsk Medical Institute. The laboratory studied the issues of hemodynamics, homeostasis, water-electrolyte balance, carbohydrate-energy metabolism, etc. The main feature of the laboratory’s work was the applied nature of scientific research, therefore, almost all scientific developments of the laboratory were introduced into the medical practice not only of the Children’s Surgical Center, but also of other medical institutions in Belarus and the former USSR. The laboratory functioned until 1998.
The laboratory staff has published over 400 scientific papers, received more than 30 rationalization proposals, 6 copyright certificates for inventions, defended 7 candidate’s and 2 doctoral dissertations (V.N. Arinchin, V.V. Dmitriev). The clinic was the only one in the former USSR where open-heart surgeries were performed on children.
1990
In the 90s, the main task facing the departments of pediatric Surgery and the Pediatric Surgical Center was to re-equip the clinic with modern equipment, since the old equipment did not allow achieving good results in the treatment of newborns, reducing postoperative complications, and operating on an open heart. Among the numerous foreign delegations (from America, Canada, Germany, etc.), a sponsor was found in the person of Jutta Schnor and her husband Herbert Schnor, who in Germany created a fund to help the Minsk Children’s Surgical Center and invested about 15 million German marks in the reconstruction of the clinic.
Thanks to the reconstruction by German specialists, the clinic received four air-conditioned operating rooms equipped with modern technology and a modern sterilization room. The new intensive care unit, angiographic, sonographic and X-ray rooms, other services and offices were equipped with modern equipment. After the reconstruction of the clinic, mortality significantly decreased, the number of postoperative complications decreased and the quality of treatment of children improved.
The staff of the departments of Pediatric Surgery, the Children’s Surgical Center on the basis of the clinical material of the institution defended 15 doctoral and more than 50 PhD theses, received over 60 copyright certificates for inventions, published more than 20 monographs, more than 70 teaching aids, many scientific papers.
1990
On 31.12.2004, a Children’s Cardiac Surgery Center was organized on the basis of departments specializing in the treatment of congenital heart defects of the Children’s Surgical Center and the Republican Scientific and Practical Center “Cardiology”. Annually on the basis of the RNPC ”Cardiology“ provided medical care to more than 7,000 children, including more than 1,200 children with congenital heart defects who received surgical treatment. More than 8,000 children were examined and received surgical treatment at the children’s surgical center per year.
At the same time, a significant number of children require simultaneous surgical care by both surgeons and cardiac surgeons. The world experience of children’s surgical centers shows that the best result in the treatment of such children is achieved in centers on the basis of which all types of surgical care are concentrated. In this regard, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus decided to organize a new medical institution for children, which united the children’s cardiac surgery of the Russian Orthodox Church ”Cardiology“ and Children’s Surgical Center.