Сourse of Ophthalmology

The ophthalmology course was organized in 1994. The organizer and first head of the ophthalmology course was Fedor Ivanovich Biryukov (1994-2002). He paid special attention to the organization and study of the employment of the blind. Since 1974, F. I. Biryukov was appointed head of the regional ophthalmology department and chief ophthalmologist of the Gomel Regional Health Department.

In 1974, he established a 24-hour emergency ophthalmology service and initiated the establishment of one of the first ophthalmoendocrinology hospital in the Republic of Gomel, based at the regional endocrinology ho. Then (1974-1976), he introduced microsurgical techniques for eye surgeries, not only in the regional center but also in inter-district departments, expanding the range of surgical treatments for patients who had previously traveled to Minsk, Moscow, Odessa, and other cities across the USSR for operations on glaucoma, retinal detachment, and other complex pathologies. In December 1975, the regional ophthalmology department, headed by F. I. Biryukov, was transferred to the new Gomel Regional Hospital. The department had reached a capacity of 80 beds, including 20 for children. Laser treatment methods were introduced in 1978, and a laser center opened in 1987 in accordance with orders from the USSR and BSSR Ministries of Health, and the Regional Health Department. Fyodor Ivanovich introduced cataract extraction with a physiologically small pupil, the dacryocystorhinostomy method, and developed a universal type of surgery for glaucoma and glaucoma with cataract. He also introduced optical reconstructive surgeries, including various types of keratoplasty and a full range of scleroplastic surgeries for retinal detachments.

Since 1982, in accordance with the order of the USSR Ministry of Health, he introduced intraocular lens implantation, and since 1994, cataract phacoemulsification. Since 1994, he has established an outpatient department of the Eye Microsurgery Center (the consultative and diagnostic outpatient department of the Center). A crown jewel of child rehabilitation was the organization and opening in November 1993 of a 100-bed children's ophthalmology sanatorium at the «Zhivitsa» Children's hospital, where children from not only the Gomel Region but also other regions of the Republic receive rehabilitation.

In accordance with orders of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the Republican Center for Rehabilitation of visually impaired patients . Since 1993, the modern material and technical facilities of the Central Medical and Hygienic Hospital have served as the clinical base for the ophthalmology program of the young Gomel State Medical Institute.

Since 2002, the ophthalmology course has been headed by candidate of medical sciences, associate professor Lyudmila Vladimirovna Dravitsa. The ophthalmology course is staffed by highly qualified specialists who utilize the best practices of leading clinics in the Republic of Belarus and abroad.