About us

The history of the Department of Surgery No.4 (Department of General Surgery No. 1) begin on 1805, when the Department of Theoretical (or Speculative) Surgery and Surgical Pathology was formed at Kharkiv University. It was headed by prof. Shumlyansky P.M.
Among the employees of the Department should be mentioned such names of famous surgeons, doctors and scientists of their time, as M.I. Ellinskyi, P.A. Butkovskyi, P.A. Naranovych, А.К. Struve, V.F. Hrube, I.K. Zarubin, M.S. Subbotin, A.G. Podriez, L.V. Orlov, M.A. Sokolov, O.A. Martinov, M.P. Trinkler, B.G. Przewalski, O.V. Melnikov, O.Z. Zeitlin, S.L. Minkin, O.P. Dyachenko, Yu.M. Orlenko, S.А. Shalimov, T.I. Tykhonova, О.В. Beresnev, V.M. Zibin, S.I. Shevchenko, R.S. Shevchenko.
During the history of its existence, the Department of General Surgery was based in many clinical hospitals in the city of Kharkiv, went through a series of reorganizations and renamings. But the main vector of educational and scientific-practical work of the Department remains unchanged, and its, for today, young staff is ambitious and purposeful, focused on scientific research and solving current problems of modern surgery, ready to quench the thirst for knowledge of future doctors and scientists, and able to perceive and implement huge experience of their predecessors.
From September 2021, the Department of General Surgery No. 1 was renamed to the Department of Surgery No.4, due to the expansion of the activities of the Department.

Education is based on a European credit transfer system for organizing the educational process.
The department trains students in educational and professional programs “Medicine” Master, “Pediatrics” Master and are studying the educational components “Surgery. Part II. Thoracic, cardiovascular, endocrine surgery”, “Surgery. Part III. Emergency surgery” and “General Surgery” by students of 6th, 5th and 3rd year of medical faculties and 2nd year in the field of training “Technologies of Medical Diagnostics and Treatment” by a specialization in “Laboratory diagnostics”; “Nursing practice” by students of 3rd year medical faculties; “Medical simulations” by students of 3rd and 2nd year of medical faculties; “Care for patients (practice)” by students of 2nd year of medical faculties.
The department has provided skill improvement in the cycles “Fundamentals of Plastic Surgery” and “Augmentation Mammoplasty”.
In the training of students at the department are widely used modern teaching methods, simulation classes using modern medical simulators on the basis of the Simulation Center of the Educational and Scientific Institute for the Education of the Kharkiv National Medical University, examinations of surgical patients, students take part in duty in surgical departments.
Practical training of students takes place on the clinical bases of Non-profit Municipal Enterprise “City Clinical Multifield Hospital No. 17” of Kharkiv City Counsil, Non-Profit Municipal Enterprise “City Hospital No. 18” of Kharkiv City Council and Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region in Kharkiv.
In order to prepare for the test items for licensing examination “KROK-2” and “KROK-3”, the department conducts trainings for students, which consist in solving and discussing the database of test tasks in surgery.
A number of methodical materials, textbooks and monographs for students and interns have been developed and introduced into the pedagogical process. Over the past few years, 18 patents for inventions have been obtained based on the results of scientific research.
All methodical materials for students at the department are published in two languages – Ukrainian and English.
At the Department has been working the student scientific society on surgery.

Scientific interests of the department: emergency surgery of the abdominal cavity, optimization of the volume of surgical interventions and analysis of postoperative complications in thyroid diseases, laparoscopic and thoracoscopic interventions, military-field surgery, thoracic surgery, bariatric surgery, reconstructive and restorative surgery.
At the department was plan and performs research work on the development of surgical technologies for diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries of the digestive system using hybrid (open and minimally invasive) operations.
Scientific products of the department:
Over the past 7 years, 11 monographs, 47 articles in professional domestic and 41 articles in foreign, and 36 abstracts have been published. During this period, 3 candidate dissertations were defended at the department. Now 2 candidates’ and 1 postdoctoral dissertation are being carried out. Based on the results of scientific research, 18 patents for inventions were received.

Treatment and diagnostic work is performed at the basic departments of Non-profit Municipal Enterprise “City Clinical Multifield Hospital No. 17” of Kharkiv City Counsil, Non-Profit Municipal Enterprise “City Hospital No. 18” of Kharkiv City Council and Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region in Kharkiv.
Every year the staff of the department consults and treats about 4500 patients with a variety of surgical pathologies. Weekly visits of professors and associate professors of the department, clinical and anatomical-pathological conferences, consultations are conducted. Complex surgical interventions in patients with various surgical pathologies of the liver, gallbladder, extrahepatic bile ducts, pancreas are performed.
At the Non-profit Municipal Enterprise “City Clinical Multifield Hospital No. 17” of Kharkiv City Counsil operates on patients with surgical pathology of the abdominal cavity, varicose veins of the lower extremities, postoperative hernias of large size, including obese patients, with surgical pathology of the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands. The surgical clinic provides emergency surgical care to city residents around the clock. There is a 24-hour trauma center on the basis of the hospital.
Department staff, graduate students, interns and members of the student scientific society are actively involved in the treatment and diagnostic process.

Head of the department – Doctor of Medicine, Professor Makarov V.V. is a current member of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

The department fruitfully collaborates with the Royal College of Surgeons of England on issues of providing highly qualified care to patients, conducting internships, and joint scientific and training projects.

Teachers of the department take an active part in international conferences, symposiums and congresses.

Since 2021, the department two courses of thematic improvement in the cycles “Fundamentals of Plastic Surgery” and “Augmentation Mammoplasty” has introduced.