MYKOLA MYKHAYLOVYCH AMOSOV – MAN-EPOCH (TO 100TH ANNIVERSARY FOR BIRTHDAY)
06 December 2013
6, December, 2013 is the 100th birthday of famous scientist and great surgeon, founder of cardiac surgery, medical and biological cybernetics in Ukraine, writer and public leader. The jubilee is celebrated at state level under aegis of UNESCO and 2013 was officially announced as the year of M.M. Amosov in the sphere of medicine.
Mykola Mykhaylovych Amosov was born on 6, December, 1913 in village Olkhovo in Vologodska province. In 1932 he graduated from Cherepovets mechanical technical college after which he worked as a shift mechanic in Archangelsk electric power station for 3 years. In 1939 he graduated with honors from Archangelsk medical institute and in 1940 – with honors from all-Union correspondence industrial institute. During the Great Patriotic War he was as a leading surgeon of field hospital in the front. Since 1947 until 1952 he worked as a chief surgeon in Bryansk regional health care department and at that time he started widely engaging in chest surgery, he performed the scientific activity and in 1953 he defended the doctor’s dissertation.
In 1952 M.M. Amosov as a great specialist in chest surgery was invited to Kyiv institute of tuberculosis to manage the special established clinic of thoracic surgery. There his versatile talent of surgeon and researcher, physiologist and engineer opened with special fullness, his scientific, organizational, practical, pedagogical and public activity became very fruitful.
M.M. Amosov was one of the initiators for wide implementation of surgery at pulmonary diseases in our country, introduced many new things into development of this problem. His researches assisted to increase in efficiency of treatment of pulmonary diseases. In 1961 the works on pulmonary surgery by M.M. Amosov were awarded with Lenin prize.
Further the main direction in the work of M.M. Amosov was cardiac surgery. In 1955 for the first time in Ukraine he started treating cardiac defects by surgical method and already in 1958 one of the first in the Soviet Union he implemented the artificial circulation method into practice. In 1963 Mykola Mykhaylovych also for the first time in USSR performed the prosthesis of mitre valve and in 1965 he created and for the first time in the world implemented the anti-thrombotic prosthesis of cardiac valves into practice. M.M. Amosov created a great number of new methods for surgical treatment of cardiac defects, original models for heart-lung apparatuses. His works on surgical treatment of heart diseases were awarded with the State prize of Ukraine (1988), Golden medals (1967, 1982) and Silver medal (1978) by Exhibition of Economic Achievements in USSR.
The clinic, established by M.M. Amosov, performed about 7,000 resections of the lungs, over 95,000 operations on heart diseases, in particular about 36,000 operations, related to artificial circulation. In 1983 the clinic of cardiac surgery, managed by M.M. Amosov, was reorganized into Kyiv scientific research institute of cardiovascular surgery. Every month the institute performs about 3,000 operations on the heart, in particular about 1,500 with artificial circulation. The most important problems of cardiac surgery are developed. M.M. Amosov was the first director, and since 1988 – honorary director in the institute. In 1955 M.M. Amosov established and became the head at the first in USSR department of chest surgery for advanced study of doctors. Later the department of anesthesiology was separated from it. These departments trained over 700 specialists for Ukraine and other republics. Along with surgery M.M. Amosov paid the great attention to modern problems of biological, medical and psychological cybernetics. Since 1959 until 1990 he was at the head of division of biological cybernetics in the Institute of cybernetics at NAS of Ukraine. Under supervision of M.M. Amosov they performed the fundamental researches on systems for self-regulation of the heart and development of issues on machine diagnostics of the heart diseases, development and construction of physiological model for “internal environment of organism”, modeling the main mental functions and some social psychological mechanisms for human behavior using computers. Non-traditional approach, original opinions of M.M. Amosov were widely acknowledged in our country and abroad. He was awarded with the State Prize of Ukraine for researches in the sphere of biocybernetics in 1978 and 1997.
M.M. Amosov – author of over 400 scientific works, including 19 monographs. A number of monographs were reissued in the USA, Japan, Germany and Bulgaria. The institute, established by him, trained 40 doctors and over 150 candidates of science, many of them manage the large scientific centers. M.M. Amosov was a member in presidium of board in Ukrainian society of surgeons and cardiologists, International association of surgeons and cardiologists, International association of surgeons and International society of cardiovascular surgeons, International society of medical cybernetics, Scientific council on cybernetics of Ukraine, member in editorial board, editorial councils in a number of national and foreign journals. M.M. Amosov combined his scientific work with the large public activity, was a deputy in Verkhovna Rada of USSR of five convocations (not being a member in CPSU). Mykola Mykhaylovych is widely known as a writer. His stories “Thoughts and heart”, “Notes from the future”, “PPG-2266”, “Book about happiness and unhappiness” were published in our country and abroad for many times. M.M. Amosov was awarded with many high governmental rewards by USSR and Ukraine. Mykola Mykhaylovych was a talented, brilliant, versatile person, brilliant surgeon, scientist and public leader. He was never indifferent to problems of state, nation, certain human. The cherished memory about academician M.M. Amosov will always remain in the hearts of his pupils, employees, many thousands of saved patients, all, who were happy to meet this brilliant human.
Mykola Mykhaylovych died on 12, December, 2002. He was buried in Kyiv in Baykovo cemetery.
The Decree from Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No 128-p, dd. 12, March, 2003, conferred the name of academician Mykola Mykhaylovych Amosov to the Institute of cardiovascular surgery at NAMS of Ukraine.
Bogomolets NMU is proud of this versatile Human, doctor-surgeon, scientist, who granted some years of his life as the head at department of surgery (1953-1955) to the University. Daughter of Mykola Mykhaylovych Kateryna Mykolayivna Amosova – talented doctor-cardiologist - manages the department of internal medicine No 2 at the University. Inheriting her father, continuing the dynasty, academician K.M. Amosova provides with steady and deep knowledge in therapy, teaches to think clinically, and educates more than one generation of students.
No fact cannot characterize the personality of human better that reflections from its diaries.
“On 16-20, March, 1985. On Thursday I operated a young woman. Cheerful, pretty. She even worked in the kindergarten. The heart is terrible: it is by four times more than normal one. Of course, one should refuse. “Wash hands”. But I did not refrain from temptation. I ordered to examine. Insufficiency of mitral and aortic valves. It is necessary to make prosthetic appliances and to perform plastic decrease of auricle.
Risk? Very large. I told my sister about everything, as well as the patient but without numbers of death rate.
She agreed of course as there is no way out. And I would also agree if I were she.
The difficulties arose at the very beginning. The machine was working for 160 minutes. Terrible tension – these hours of perfusion. It can be understood only by one made it on oneself. We saved. We left the operating room with small doses of cardiac stimulants.
The new stage of stress started. They called up” She died at night”. I am crushed and unhappy. Headache. Pressure 180. The prosector at the conference reported about resection and showed the heart. Mistake. I have been operating irreproachably for more than three months. And here it is. The cut of interatrial septum is sewed loosely.
I am sitting – a sinner. The God used to give me the advances: cheer up, swear, demand – reduce the death rate! But be without sin yourself. Now with fear I am looking into tomorrow. Two operations are planned. Both patients are easy. But no means they should not die. How difficult this right is: to decide about the life and death”.
Academician Oleksander Shalimov vividly characterized the phenomenon of human and doctor Mykola Amosov.
“We got acquainted with Mykola Mykhaylovych in Bryansk half a century ago. Just imagine the winter of 1947, postwar ruin, difficult slow takeoff of people’s life. I have already been working in surgical department of regional hospital for half a year. I lived in its territory. And I learnt that surgeon Mykola Mykhaylovych Amosov with front and even Moscow experience comes to us. Of course, it was both pleasant and interesting because there are always a lot to do in surgery and here an experienced colleague appeared. We met at once. Strong-willed, open, skilful specialist. Wife Lidiya Vasilyevna - instrument nurse. We are about of the same age: I am thirty and Amosov is thirty four. The Amosov also settled in the territory of hospital.
In relation to scientific growth we both realized our possibilities, Amosov was, perhaps, “leading” one: the successes of one, his mastering the new technologies encouraged the other, as well as our dissertation dramas and tests. But here, of course, it does not mean any leadership but a good example as everyone went his own way.
The time brought us from Bryansk to Ukraine. Sometimes we met, more often at congresses of surgeons. I remembered one of such meetings most of all. It happened in Kharkiv in 1962. All-Union congress of surgeons was held here, and I organized a demonstrative operating day in the program. The operations started at eight o’clock in the morning and I was standing near operating tables during twelve hours, having shown his technology for performance of a number of hard, mainly reconstructive operations.
Mykola Mykhaylovych with interest was looking after my work during the whole day. On the next day it was thundered. Famous in the country surgeon at higher state level during regular meeting rather skeptically spoke about my initiative. And here Mykola Mykhaylovych suddenly interfered into the dispute. He strongly objected the superior, gave the high assessment to the level of surgical mastery in Kharkiv.
Sometimes I visited him. We spoke about many things, including about the works of metropolitan Anthony Surozhskyy, who was surgeon in the past. And I promised to Mykola Mykhaylovych to bring books by Surozhskyy. But failed… During last months Mykola Mykhaylovych felt worse. In addition to disorders with the heart he was bothered with the shakiness in motion. He was working tirelessly; there was no capitulation of intellect. Once by phone I told Mykola Mykhaylovych that in the world there is only one serious mischief – collision with oncologic diseases, the rest ones can be cured. Why I told it he knew…
- There is one more serious disease - decline of life, - answered Amosov.
On the last day of life, on the 12th of December last year, he felt well but the death came suddenly. They tell that holy men die easily… Well, it was some relief for those ones, who loved and respected Amosov”.
Mykola Amosov – brilliant personality of old generation of contemporaries, his name – one of features of XX and future XXI centuries.
