Professor Gábor Kovács, an honorary citizen of Szeged, passed away at the age of ninety-three on October 21, the city’s mayor’s office informed MTI on Tuesday.
According to the announcement, Gábor Kovács was born in Szeged on December 27, 1929, and graduated from the Medical University of Szeged in 1954. He then worked in Sátoraljaújhely for a year, and then returned to the university’s Institute of Surgery. From 1958, he organized a heart catheter laboratory at the Szeged surgery clinic, introduced and disseminated new, world-class methods. In 1962, he spent ten months on a scholarship in England, where he studied the artificial heart-lung device. After his return, he also introduced the use of the instrument in Szeged, and with its help, open heart surgeries were successfully started.
The experiences of his American study trip in 1965-66 again led to progress in the clinic’s cardiac surgery department. With the help of his guidance, heart valves were implanted in Szeged, as well as heart surgeries for infants and the country’s first intensive care unit was established.
From 1960, he taught cardiac surgery in Szeged, and from 1972 at the University of Pécs, and also assisted in the initiation of cardiac surgery training at the University of Debrecen.
In 1977, he was appointed a university professor. Until his retirement in 1995, he took part in the promotion of coronary artery surgery and the start of the independent heart surgery department.
In addition to his more than one hundred and fifty publications, he was the co-author of four books and participated in the work and management of several scientific organizations. In addition to numerous professional recognitions, the city of Szeged elected him an honorary citizen in 2001.
The municipality of Szeged considers heart surgeon professor Gábor Kovács to be its own dead, and arranges for his funeral in consultation with the family, the announcement states.
