Historic moment at Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center; Elek: Two hip replacement surgeries successfully performed

Two hip replacement surgeries were performed for the first time today at the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center, and both procedures were successfully completed. Director of the healthcare institution Zlatan Elek said that this was a major day not only for healthcare in Kosovo, but for Serbia as a whole.

The surgeries were performed by Primarius Dr. Sladjan Timotijevic, Head of Orthopedics at the Bezanijska Kosa Clinical Hospital Center, who is originally from Kosovo.

According to Elek, this was the result of successful cooperation between the Bezanijska Kosa Clinical Hospital Center, headed by Director Marija Zdravkovic, and the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center.

“To make all of this possible, substantial investments were required. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Health, the Republic Health Insurance Fund and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, which provided funds for the procurement of hip implants in the amount of 11,139,390 dinars, as well as for the complete system without which these procedures could not be performed, worth 10,850,920 dinars. We promised that this type of surgical procedure would begin on October 17, and as of today, the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center joins the institutions contributing to reducing Serbia’s waiting list for hip replacement surgery,” Elek said.

The patients will stay in the new Orthopedics Department, where rooms accommodate two patients and are equipped with bathrooms. Following the successful surgeries, their recovery will continue at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which has been completely renovated with funds provided by the Government of Serbia.

Elek also said that the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center had received a state-of-the-art angiography suite.

“The Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center has received a state-of-the-art angiography suite, given that these are patients who require urgent intervention and who previously had to travel to central Serbia. I expect that during this year we will have specialists coming here from our largest healthcare centers, with which we have excellent relations. Everything that was promised has been delivered, because our greatest concern and interest is to fight for the health of every one of our patients in Kosovo and Metohija,” Elek said.

Primarius Dr. Sladjan Timotijevic thanked the management of the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center for their trust and for inviting him to perform the complex procedures.

“This is a complex operation. The conditions here are in place for such a demanding procedure to be performed. They have the equipment, and they adequately prepared the patients we operated on today. The operating theater has equipment suitable for this type of surgical procedure, the appropriate implants, and the facilities in the department are more than satisfactory. It was therefore a great honor and pleasure for me to be able to help them today and share some of my knowledge and experience. I have been doing this work for more than 30 years. I hope we will continue this cooperation for the benefit of all the people who rely on this hospital, so that the waiting list for this operation can be reduced and patients can receive treatment in a timely manner,” Timotijevic said.

Deputy Director of the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center, Dr. Dragisa Milovic, assessed that today was a significant day for orthopedics in Mitrovica and for the healthcare institution, as two total hip replacement surgeries had been performed there for the first time.

“These are very difficult and delicate operations. After more than 30 years of orthopedic services here, we have finally reached the point where such an eminent expert has come to assist us. Prior to this, our orthopedic surgeons trained at Bezanijska Kosa and mastered this method. I sincerely hope that after hip replacement, the next step will be knee replacement surgery, and that in this way we will complete the range of procedures offered by the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center, specifically its Orthopedics Department. Our patients from Kosovo and Metohija will no longer have to travel to other centers such as Belgrade, Nis or Kragujevac for this type of procedure. Waiting lists will be reduced. This is the best example and proof of how much the state of Serbia is investing in this area. The Clinical Hospital Center is being reconstructed, to the satisfaction of all of us who live here and of our patients,” Milovic said.

The project was implemented through cooperation between the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center, the Ministry of Health, the Republic Health Insurance Fund and the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, as part of the extensive reconstruction of the largest healthcare institution treating Serbs from Kosovo.