Surgery, Orthopaedics And Ophthalmology

The history of the Clinic for Surgery, Orthopedics and Ophthalmology is directly related to the founding of the Veterinary College, and it registered its first patients on October 16, 1922. The crucial role in the establishment and organization of the Surgical Clinic was played by prof. Eugen Podaubsky who was its first professor. The renovation of the Clinic and the purchase of more modern equipment began during the presidency of prof. dr. Željko Matičić (1985-1998) and the Clinic was officially opened in the autumn of 1999. At that time, with the support of the then head prof. Dr. Antun Brkić (1999 – 2005), approaches the organization of work by specialties. Since March 2006, with the efforts of the then head prof. Dr. Dražen Matičić (2005-2012) begins more intensive activity of teachers and assistants regarding training abroad through ECVS and ACVS residency programs and study stays in centers of veterinary excellence in Europe and the USA. During 2009, a contract was signed on the financing of the development project Center of Excellence in Veterinary Surgery at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb between the City of Zagreb, the University of Zagreb and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Under the leadership of prof. dr.  Dražen Matičić Clinic, as part of the project, was completely renovated and equipped with modern devices and today is one of the most modern equipped Surgical Clinics in this part of Europe.

 

Teaching

Surgery, orthopedics and ophthalmology is a three-semester subject. In VII. semester students study general surgery and anesthesiology, in VIII. special surgery and ophthalmology, and in IX. semester orthopedics and neurosurgery. The emphasis is on practical work of students, who participate in small groups in the daily clinical work of the Clinic. Throughout history, the Clinic’s teachers have been engaged in translating modern textbooks of the time and the first domestic university textbook written by the Clinic’s teachers was published in 2010 under the title Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology.

Postgraduate teaching

In ac. yr. 2008/2009 the postgraduate specialist study of Surgery, Orthopedics and Ophthalmology with Anesthesiology was established, and in 2012 it was reorganized and renamed the postgraduate specialist study of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Ophthalmology with Veterinary Dentistry. The name change of the study highlighted four specialist areas recognized by the European Veterinary Specialists Committee (EBVS). Certified specialists from European and American colleges of various specializations are included in the classes, which are also organized in English for foreign students, and in this way the postgraduate study gains international recognition. Therefore, in the last few generations, the study has been enrolled by veterinarians from 14 countries on three continents.

Scientific work

Scientific work at the Clinic began in the early 1930s on the basis of clinical material that came to the clinic in a very wide range of pathological cases. These researches included mostly casuistic representations and treatments of certain interesting cases. From the mid-fifties of the 20th century, the teachers of the Clinic were the leaders of domestic scientific research topics that were financed from the state budget, and in the new millennium, also international scientific projects. Prof. dr. Dražen Matičić was a researcher and leader of the animal experiment of the FP7 project BIOCOMET (2011-2015), BIO-CHIP project (2015-2019), and the research leader of the veterinary part of the OSTEOproSPINE project  (2018 – 2022). Based on the results in previous scientific work prof. dr. Dražen Matičić was elected in 2014 as an associate member, and in 2018 as a full member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Department of Medical Sciences. So far, at the Clinic for Surgery, Orthopedics and Ophthalmology, prof. dr.  Dražen Vnuk completed the ECVS residency program, and one employee gained Diplomate status. Namely, dr. sc. Marko Stejskal specialized in Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA, as part of the Resident program of the American College of Veterinary Surgery under the mentorship of prof. Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, MS, DACVS. Having passed the specialist exam in 2016, he obtained the title of Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons – Small Animal (DACVS-SA), and in 2017 the title of Diplomat, European College of Veterinary Surgeons (DECVS). In the last few years, during the term of office of the head of prof. dr. s B. Pirkić and dr. sc. Marko Stejskala, new surgical techniques are introduced in neurosurgery, ophthalmology and orthopedics, and at the same time investments are made in the education of a new generation of assistants and teachers in the field of veterinary dentistry, anesthesiology, ophthalmology and equine surgery.

 

akademik Dražen Matičić

Akademik; voditelj projekta BIO CHIP
Dražen Matičić

prof. dr. sc. Boris Pirkić

redoviti profesor
Boris Pirkić

prof. dr. sc. Dražen Vnuk

Predstojnik, redoviti profesor
Dražen Vnuk

izv. prof. dr. sc. Tomislav Babić

izvanredni profesor
Tomislav Babić

prof. dr. sc. Mario Kreszinger

redoviti profesor
Mario Kreszinger

izv. prof. dr. sc. Nika Brkljača Bottegaro

izvanredna profesorica, DECVSRM

izv. prof. dr. sc. Ozren Smolec

izvanredni profesor
Ozren Smolec

univ. mag. med. vet. Mirna Abaffy Kirin

stručna suradnica
Mirna Abaffy Kirin

dr. sc. Valentina Plichta

poslijedoktorandica

dr. sc. Petar Kostešić

poslijedoktorand
Petar Kostešić

dr. sc. Marija Lipar

viša stručna suradnica
Marija Lipar

dr. sc. Petra Dmitrović

viši asistent
Petra Dmitrović

dr. med. vet. Mirta Vučković

asistentica
Mirta Vučković

Morana Pavelić

Ured
Morana Pavelić

Veterinary Studies in English

Surgery, Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology II

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