Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 218-221. (Budapest, 2012)
KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Gosztonyi György: Környey István (1901-1988)
120 Comm, de Hist. Artis Med. 218—221 (2012) In his written answer István Rusznyák, the President of the Academy, insisted on the wrongdoings of Sántha and refused to change the decision and to mitigate its consequences.13 The University of Debrecen removed Sántha and his wife Klára Majerszky from the Neurological Clinic, and the Ministry of Health trans fened them as head physicians to the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry of the Hospital of Balassagyannat, in Northern Hungary. During their years in Balassagyarmat Kömyey regularly visited the Sántha couple. In 1955-56, due to the changes in the atmosphere of Hungarian internal policy, the demand on Sántha’s rehabilitation was more and more frequently proclaimed. The presidium of the Academy offered Sántha in the summer 1956 the possibility of rehabilitation, but he did not accept its written formulation. Now, Kömyey took upon himself the mediating role of several weeks’ duration, and requiring tiring diplomacy. Thanks for the most part of Köm- yey’s efforts the following statement of the presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was bom on August 1, 1956: “Since (...the presidium...) has reached the judgment that the exclusion occurred without sufficient ground, ... repeals his resolution of that time”’,16 Parallel with the course of the academic rehabilitation, Sántha’s re-installment to his neurological chair went ahead at the University of Debrecen and in the Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, Sántha could not return to Debrecen any more. In the spring of 1956 he had been under periodic treatment due to a severe degenerative disorder of the autonomous nervous system. His care took place in the Central Military Hospital, Budapest, at the Department of Neurology, lead by his previous co-worker, Pál Juhász, physician-colonel. Sántha died on December 12, 1956, in consequence of the progression of his disease at the above hospital. The work-style of István Kömyey was characterized by severe regularity and time- economy, with the care of patients in its centre. From his co-workers he expected high- level consciousness and precision in documentation. The early-morning conferences of division-heads and the late afternoon conferences of the entire staff were for the benefit of patient care and of patient administration. Inspired by neurosurgical aspects, he laid great emphasis in the neurological practice on the quick recognition and treatment of acute neurological conditions. For his pupils, the ophthalmoscope belonged just as much to the annament of the neurologist as the reflex hammer. His pupils, his clinical co-workers had all taken this “acute neurological” view along with them and have spread this approach in their later fields of activity, first of all, in Transdanubia. The Clinic took over beside the strict neurological and neurosurgical profile also the care of the great part of neurotraumatological, neurotoxicological and cerebrovascular cases. Kömyey prepared his university lectures with great thoughtfulness and attention, and illustrated them with high level patient demonstrations and figures and diagrams. The pupils honoured his teaching accomplishments with regular presence in the lecture room. He used to give the neurological, psychiatric and neurosurgical lectures himself, however, later on he commissioned some of his senior co-workers to take over the lecturing of the two latter disciplines. The neurological and psychiatric exams were highly demanding. Basic neuro- anatomical knowledge and good orientation in acute neurological syndromes were indispensable requirements for a successful exam. 15 16 15 Majerszky K.: op.cit. 16 Majerszky K..: op.cit.
