Detailed analysis of research and practice in the life of a pediatric surgeon in East Central Europe in the 20th century – an example of prof. Zofia Umiastowska-Sawicka

Sa？etak Professor Zofia Umiastowska Sawicka laid the foundations for modern pediatric surgery in Poland, first in Bialystok, and subsequently in Kielce. She was a student of Prof. Jan Kossakowski from Warsaw Medical University to be counted among his most talented and skilled disciples. Professor Umiastowska became the head of the first Department of Pediatric Surgery in Bialystok, which was later incorporated into the Medical Academy of Bialystok. In 1977 she moved to Kielce to run the Department of Pediatric Surgery until her retirement in 1991. In these locations she was the one who trained generations of pediatric surgeons with special emphasis on surgical management of exstrophy of the bladder, vaginal labial adhesion (synechia), injuries of the male urethra, liver and hepatic ligament. During her professional lifetime she focused on congenital diaphragmatic hernia, Meckel’s diverticulum, and some aspects of pediatric oncology as well. Every school she attended enriched her with the best of knowledge and skills that made her a perfect teacher for others. However, the Warsaw Medical University essentially played the main role at the core of her surgical training: here she was taught and she learnt how to be pediatric surgeon for good of public health of the society in concord with the motto of the Warsaw Medical University: Saluti publicae