Health

DOCTOR BOŠKO ĐUKANOVIĆ (DOCENT), A CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON, THE MANAGER OF ”DEDINJE” INSTITUTE
All Secrets of the Heart
The best institution of the kind in (south)Eastern Europe and one of the best in the world, ”Dedinje” performed more than four thousand surgeries last year, 1600 of them were open heart surgeries, hundreds of pacemakers were placed, more than 20 thousand patients were examined and diagnosed. First class knowledge and experience concentrated in this elite institute are exported all around the world, from Houston, across Libya all the way to Yaroslav. The biggest problem is a long list of waiting, always with at least 3500 patients. The experts of the institute say with bitterness that some people would never even live to their surgery, just because the institute does not have enough capacities! The state should react immediately

By: Jagoda Plavšić

First of all, our interview was rescheduled for another day because of one Frenchman. Then, we waited almost two hours, because of some Russian people, for Docent Doctor Boško Đukanović to find some time for us, who is a very kind man, always prepared to speak with journalists.
The first delay was because of one of the world’s best experts for surgery of heart valves, Professor Sylvain Chaveau, who is coming to Belgrade for the fourth time to operate on people with congenital heart defects, showing his work to Serbian doctors at the same time. But, on the day of our visit, he watched Doctor Đukanović operating a heart aorta, saying in the end: ”I am so excited with what I just saw is performed here, I have never seen such things during my medical practice!”
The second delay was because of the first man of the Yaroslav province, Mr. Lisicin and his collaborators. We were the first to learn about the idea of ”Dedinje” moving to Russia, with all the knowledge concentrated under the roof of that great institution.
If we add the fact that Doctor Đukanović has a photograph in his office, chatting with the famous President Gaddafi under a tent, then we learn that Libya wants Serbian experts from ”Dedinje” Institute to help their cardio-surgery and take over the biggest hospital in Benghazi, it is so clear to us that we are talking about the best institute for treating cardio-vascular diseases in (south)Eastern Europe.
The first man of the institute, the famous cardiothoracic surgeon, Docent Doctor Boško Đukanović does not want to talk about himself. The institute has to be the most important thing because of its great results, its prestige and its best promotion of Serbian medicine. The first man is there to make a team which can follow him and which can function perfectly without him. And Doctor Đukanović reaches his goal.
He was born in Valjevo and he loves his native town very much. People say that he grew up listening to stories about General Mihajlović, the Commander of the Yugoslav army during World War II and for eight years he is keeping the General’s photo in his office. He finished medical studies in Belgrade, he improved his knowledge with the greatest world experts in Houston and other centres; he published more than 70 expert and science papers; he introduced new methods; he is a member of many expert associations. He does not belong to a political party. He is the honorary member of Mionica, the member of the Royal Council, of the administration department of the Basketball Club ”Partizan”, a great basketball lover, a chess lover, one of the founders and the vice president of the Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons. He is married, the father of two children. He says that he always had his wife’s support as well as the support of his family. He is well known to the people of public life and to ”common patients”. He is well known from Houston to Vladivostok, wherever he worked or taught. He insists that the Serbian people, rather small, should promote their reaches in medicine, which is what he does and shows wherever he is.

THE CARDIAC SURGERY CENTRE OF THE BALKANS

Doctor Đukanović is represented in the best way through the story about the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases ”Dedinje”.
About eight years ago, the Institute started working with its knowledge, enthusiasm and ethics. Following the principle and working rules of the cardiac surgery school in Houston, they managed to reach something nobody has reached before.
– We performed more operation on the open heart last year than all other centres in Serbia together. For a very short time, our export of knowledge is twenty times bigger by operating on hearts of foreign patients. The best diplomacy is medical diplomacy – says Đukanović. – I think that no Serbian company made such a big step as we did in selling the world our most valuable thing: our knowledge.
Doctor Đukanović emphasizes that domestic patients were never neglected or refused. It happened that their treatment on the Institute was sometimes covered from the income of the foreign patients. This respectable expert says he is very proud. The strategic decision is to achieve twice as much in selling knowledge of the Institute ”Dedinje” than last year. United in this field we have a lot to offer to the world which is standing in front of our doors.
– We have a great expert potential and a dominating quality in this filed of medicine in the Balkans, and in Eastern Europe as well. In the area from the Adriatic Sea to Vladivostok, and in many Arabian countries, is the market to which we have a lot to offer, the market which needs our knowledge. Besides that fact, selling your own knowledge is a prestige. I claim that the best promotion is made by medical diplomacy. That is why we need the help of the state to mobilize all that is good, which is also in state interest. We do not hide our ambition and our rating on the top of Serbian and European medicine could make ”Dedinje” the cardiac surgery centre of the Balkans in recent future.

A BOTTLENECK SITUATION

What did the experts of this medical institution do last year to reach the top, in front of others, and to maintain on that position?
They work just like the heart which they treat works. That magnificent organ of 300 grams of muscles does not stop beating from birth until death and in one day it pumps from seven to ten thousand litres of blood! There were more than four thousand operations performed, 1600 on the open heart, 1600 vascular operations, more than 3000 invasive cardiac procedures, 1000 stents and several hundreds of pacemakers were placed, more than 20 thousand patients examined. For thirty years, more than 25 thousand operations were performed on the open heart, with great results, for which the cardio-surgical team of ”Dedinje” is one of the best in Europe.
– Those results were achieved thanks to the politics of the institute which is including constant education and perfection of young experts in the most eminent cardiac surgery centres of Europe and USA, in which I also advanced my skills, as well as my precursors. Now, our younger colleagues are obtaining these skills. The Institute has a certain system to be followed, including hierarchy and efficiency. It was all established by Professor Mihajlo Vučinić, who transferred and adjusted the Houston working technology for our doctors. The system continued to develop after him. That is how we still work. We are the Houston school in Belgrade which invests into knowledge, expertise, receiving an acknowledgment in many papers published by our doctors in leading world medical magazines. We continue to collaborate with the best, first-class experts are visiting us, the greatest names of world cardio-surgery, we organize workshops, and we get more and more foreign doctors who come to learn from us. We also accept the best students. The most talented ones. All in all, I am very happy to see thing going forward, and we see obvious improvement in all fields – says Doctor Đukanović.
However, we do have problems. First of all, we have a long waiting list for heart surgeries (at least 3500 patients). It is a disastrous fact, says Doctor Đukanović with bitterness, that 30 to 50 percent of patients will not even live until their surgery. And that is only because of lack of capacities!
– That is why we suggested expanding the Institute, to build a new building, to the Ministry of Health, to the Premiere and to the Fund. I believe that the solution would come quickly. With the new hospital, modern equipment and first-class knowledge that we have, we can work on the heart transplant program again, we are preparing for the implementation of the artificial heart which is so improved and superior in regard to the organic one. There are many plans as well as willingness to realize them. We cannot let people die only because the operation blocks are a bottleneck of our cardiac surgery!

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Talents
On the initiative of Doctor Boško Đukanović the Foundation ”Vojislav K. Subotić” was established in order to use the donations of rich and merciful people to finance advance training of the most talented young cardiac surgeons in the most eminent European and world cardiac surgery centres.

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Message
The famous cardiothoracic surgeon Denton Cooley, from the University of Texas, sent a message in the last video, saying that ”Dedinje” is one of the most eminent cardiovascular centres in the world, and that he is very proud that he took part in educating doctors of this institute. That is one more convincing confirmation of the reputation that ”Dedinje” Institute has around the world, in its field and among patients.