Szemészet, 2004 (141. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2004-06-01 / 2. szám
196 Szemészet congress, lecturers from abroad also participated. According to the account of General Secretary Katalin Csépi, at the 1960 assembly the number of registered lectures was 59. There was sad news later in this year, when Katalin Csépi was killed in a plane crash. The provincial branches also were very active. The North-Hungary branch held meetings in 1956, 1958 and 1959; the East-Hungary branch in 1956 and 1957. The South-Hungary branch held further-training courses and a special meeting on trachoma for the GPs of the region. The South-West branch, under the leadership of Béla Boros, organised afternoon lectures. It was during the proceedings of the 1960 assembly that the IOL technique was first reported on in Hungary. Vanysek and his team (from Brno, Czechoslovakia) reported on 13 anterior-chamber lens implantations, followed by the account given by Galli (from Szeged, Hungary), on animal experiments involving 10 implants of acrylic lenses. István Takáts reported on similar animal experiments. It is unlikely however that these reports aroused much enthusiasm. To give a feel for the typical response, here is an extract from Ferenc Papolczy’s contribution to the discussion: “In spite of occasional successes with the use of acrylic IOLs, it is unlikely that this method for the correction of aphakia can be regarded as an ultimate solution.” Lóránt Galli was the first, in 1962, to employ anterior-chamber lenses of the Dannheim type and, later, posterior-chamber lenses. Between 1962 and 1994 he performed altogether 2183 lens implantations. When speaking of IOLs we should also mention Zoltán Vass, the leading doctor in the town of Baja. According to his son, between 1970 and 1991 Dr. Vass implanted Dannheim-type lenses, but afterwards used other types. 1961-1965 A book by Pál Weinstein, titled “Primary glaucoma”, was published at this time. Even today it is worth reading, since it poses questions which are still relevant; for example the significance of perfusion. The fusion method of perimetry has been known since 1933. The electrical version was introduced about 1950, and was first used in Hungary in 1956, by Weinstein and Forgács. In 1961 Gábor Brooser and Zsuzsa Gál gave a report in “Szemészet” on their experiences with such equipment, which they had designed and built themselves. At this time the 6th edition of the Csapody vision-testing charts was published. According to Nónay’s account, the method had then been in use for 70 years. Ágost Kahán also made his contribution to the further-training of the members of the Sub-section. He published a long 2-part study, totalling 34 pages, in “Szemészet”. The article had several hundred literature references. In 1961 the book titled “Bibliography of Hungarian ophthalmology 1945-1960”, by István Vári and János Betkó, was published. In the same year, a book by Béla Alberth titled “Keratoplasty” (Enke Vlg., Stuttgart) came out, in German. It was no. 37 in the publisher’s series “Bücherei des Augenarztes” (Ophthalmologist’s Library). This was the second book on keratoplasty in the series written by a Hungarian author; the earlier volume, by József Imre, had appeared in 1942. An account of the history of keratoplasty was published in “Szemészet”. The article is not a long one, but contains important material on the history of medicine. We learn from the article that Hungarian ophthalmologists were in the vanguard in the use of this technique. József Imre jun. and László Blaskovics were among these pioneers. In Debrecen, keratoplasties had first been performed in 1950, and the clinic had quickly developed as a transplant centre, despite the economic constraints of the period. In 1962 the Sub-section suffered a great loss on the death of Kornél Scholtz. Together with Emil Grósz he had launched the journal “Orvosképzés” (“Medical training”) in 1911. Scholtz became an external professor in 1907, and in 1911 a visiting professor. His ophthalmology textbook, first published in 1911, later went through several new editions. In 1963 and 1964 respectively the Sub-section mourned the loss of two colleagues, Ida Czukrász (b. 1906) and Andor Licskó (b. 1901). In 1965, Gusztáv Horay celebrated his 70th birthday, and Olga Szántó Palich her 75th. At the turn of 1961-1962 there was a serious outbreak of keratoconjunctivitis in Hungary, caused by infection with adenovirus type 8. Trachoma was still to be found in the country, but the number of patients had decreased considerably from former years. Ida Czukrász provided data for Szolnok county in the east of Hungary: in 25 small towns there had been 283 trachoma cases in 1940. Eight years later, in 1948, there were only 82 cases. There was a beneficial effect due to the regular screening examinations which were introduced. In 1956 an order from the Ministry of Health made trachoma screening compulsory. There also occurred new cases of eye disease consequent on syphilis. According to Margit Varga’s report, in the 1st Department of Ophthalmology there were 150 seropositive cases detected; 82 of these (54%) had some connection with syphilis infections. The 1963 general assembly was held on 10-12 October. In his introductory address the president, Ferenc Kukán, reviewed the scientific achievements of the preceding 3 years. Three books and 224 articles had been published. The number of authors, including the co-authors, was 108; this number represented about one quarter of all the Hungarian ophthalmologists. The year 1964 was again an important jubilee for the Hungarian profession. From an article by István Győrffy in “Szemészet” we learn about the then 100-year history of the journal which today (2004) is 140 years old. A century previously, in 1904, “Szemészet” had undergone considerable changes both in its content and its outward appearance. The previous quarto format was changed to octavo, wrote Győrffy. This meant that the issues were more bulky, and therefore they were published as separate booklets. In his article Győrffy also noted that from this time onwards, after the founding of the Association, the most valuable topics were to be found not in the journal’s regular scientific articles, but rather Magdolna Zajácz
