A brief history

Department of General Surgery-Semiology No. 3 has been operating since 1945, when Chisinau State Institute of Medicine was founded. Between 1945 -1947, the Department was headed by professor Savely Rubashov. Born in 1883 in Saint Petersburg , he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Kharkiv University, later being appointed head of surgery departments in Minsk, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Kislovodsk.

Afterwards the Department of General Surgery was successively fronted by professors Alexei Livov (1947-1950), Piotr Khokhlov (1950-1952), Leontii Shuljak (1952-1954), Martiros Arutiunyan (1954-1957) and Nicolai Gladyrevsky (1957- 1962). Professor Gladyrevsky was appointed vice-rector responsible for scientific activity and subsequently founded the Department of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Military Field Surgery.

In the years 1962-1979, the leadership of the Department was taken over by Professor Constantin Tsybyrne. During this period, the spectrum of scientific activity at the Department has been essentially broadened. Thoracic and abdominal surgery matters such as echinococcosis, suppurative diseases of the lungs, ulcerative disease, portal hypertension were studied in detail.

During the tenure of professor Gheorghe Ghidirim (1979-1991), the scientific-pedagogical and clinical activity registered remarkable success. The scientific work resulted in the defense of several theses dedicated to complications of acute pancreatitis, ulcerative diseases and septic diseases; a series of monographs have been published; and an authentic school of surgery was set up. In 1993, professor Ghidirim became an academician of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. For several years, he was President of N. Anestiadi Association of Surgeons and of the College of Physicians of Moldova. Between 1990-1994, Gheorghe Ghidirim served as Minister of Health. He was decorated with many government orders and medals.

In the following years, the department was headed by Nicolae Curlat (1991-1994), professors Silviu Sofronie (1994-1995) and Evstafie Chicala (1995-2003). Professor Chicala carried out a prodigious scientific activity, in particular by approaching the issue of bleeding peptic ulcer, which was tackled in his Doctor Habilitated dissertation (defended in 1992) as well. The scientist’s research is concerned with vascular surgical pathology and reconstructive surgery of the digestive tract, a series of monographs and textbooks being published in this area.

Between 2003-2005, the General Surgery Department was fronted by Associate Professor Ion Parush. Since 2005 it has been led by professor Eugen Gutsu. Over the next 17 years, under the leadership of Professor E. Gutsu, the department achieved the greatest success in scientific, clinical and pedagogical activities, and also formed as a mature and strong team of like-minded people. Exceptional surgical skills, inexhaustible energy, innovative approach and direct personal involvement of the head of the department in the curative process allowed to significantly expand the spectrum and increase the number of operations performed in the Clinic. For the first time, radical interventions for tumors of the stomach, intestines and pancreas began to be successfully carried out; complex reconstructions of the biliary ducts and blood vessels; advanced approaches to the treatment of acute diseases of the abdominal organs and purulent infection of soft tissues were implemented in routine practice.

Inspired by the personal example of their leader, the academic staff of the chair and clinical staff of the surgical departments enthusiastically took part in the development of the main directions of the Clinic: diagnostics and treatment of pathology of the abdominal organs and management of the diseases of the major blood vessels.

Under the supervision of Professor E. Gutsu, during this period, several PhD and post-doctoral dissertations were written and successfully defended, dedicated to various actual problems of modern surgery: "Acute bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers: etiopathogenetic, clinical and endoscopic features and treatment" (G. Mocanu, PhD, 2007); "Possibilities of endoscopic dissection of perforating veins in the treatment of severe chronic venous insufficiency" (V. Culiuc, PhD, 2009); "Features of diagnostics and treatment of acute appendicitis during pregnancy" (V. Guzun, PhD, 2014); "Surgical approaches to the treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities" (D. Casian, Dr.Hab., 2018); "Remote results of surgical treatment of varicose veins: clinical and hemodynamic aspects" (V. Maloghin, PhD, 2018); "Early and remote results of treatment of deep vein thrombosis of the inferior vena cava system" (M. Sochirca, PhD, 2019).

Currently, the department operates at three clinical centers: Municipal Clinical Hospital "Gheorghe Paladi", Institute of Emergency Medicine and Central Military Hospital. The enormous methodological work carried out personally by Professor E. Gutsu and the team led by him made it possible to bring the teaching of general surgery and surgical semiology to a qualitatively new level. Over the past years, the main didactic materials used in the department – a textbook, a series of methodological recommendations, lectures, presentations, examination tests and questions, a collection of clinical cases – all have been comprehensively updated and completely unified in three languages ​​(Romanian, Russian, English).

At the initiative of the head of the department, modern methods of teaching surgery were introduced with an emphasis on students mastering practical skills at the patient's bedside, in operating theatre and dressing rooms, as well as using mannequins and simulators. In addition to 3rd-year students, the department constantly trains surgical residents, as well as hold surgery modules for residents in other specialties: family medicine, dermato-venereology, otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology.

In 2022, Professor E. Gutsu handed over the lead of the department to his follower, the chief of the Vascular surgery Clinic at the Institute of Emergency Medicine Prof. D. Casian, remaining at the same time an indisputable authority, ideological inspirer and worthy role model for his colleagues.