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The 50th anniversary of Alexey Evgenievich Shcherba

On May 9, 2023, Aleksey Evgenievich Shcherba, one of the leading surgeons of the Republic of Belarus, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director for Surgery of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology" celebrated his 50th anniversary.

A.E. Shcherba was born in Minsk in the family of doctors.

After finishing the secondary school No. 54 in Minsk, he entered Minsk State Medical Institute, from which he graduated with honors in 1996 and was referred to the clinical residency at the department of surgical diseases No. 2 of Minsk State Medical Institute on a specialty “Surgery”.

After training in residency A.E. Shcherba started work as a surgeon at the emergency surgery department of the City Clinical Hospital No. 9 in Minsk. In 2006, without interrupting his practical activities, he defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic: “Peculiarities of local treatment of necrotizing parapancreatitis” in the specialty 14.01.17 - “surgery” (under the supervision of Academician of the National Academy of Sciences, Prof. S.I. Tretyak).

The time of advancing of A.E. Shcherba as a practical surgeon and scientist coincided with the beginning of a new medical field development in our country - clinical transplantology. A.E. Shcherba became one of the main protagonists of a young team of like-minded enthusiasts, who were gathered by a new Head of the surgical service of the City Clinical Hospital No. 9 in Minsk, and now the director of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology" acad. NAS, prof. O.O. Rummo.

A.E. Shcherba was in the team of specialists who performed the country's first liver transplant on April 2, 2008, and the second operation - on April 13. Great merit of Aleksey Evgenievich is that this operation from a unique one subsequently became accessible. He was entrusted to supervise the liver transplantation program and its development in the transplantology department founded in 2010 in the Republican Scientific and Practical Center "Transplantation of Organs and Tissues" on the basis of the 9th City Clinical Hospital, Minsk.

This activity helped to reveal fully the natural gift of A.E. Shcherba - surgical practice full of quests, based on enormous diligence and the broadest medical erudition, natural curiosity and the desire to “get to the very essence” in everything. Since that time Alexei Evgenievich has performed hundreds of operations; not only residents of our republic, but also patients from all countries of the former Soviet Union and many foreign countries began to turn to him for a consultation. At present, A.E. Shcherba is a recognized authority in the diagnosis and treatment of the liver and pancreas diseases, transplant surgery, oncology and immunosuppression not only in our republic, but also far beyond its borders. A special merit of A.E. Shcherba was the program of the pediatric liver transplantation, successfully implemented in our country.

As a team member of Belarusian specialists, Aleksey Evgenievich took an active part in the development of national programs for liver transplantation in adults and children in the fraternal republics - the Republics of Kazakhstan and Armenia, he selected, planned and performed operations in foreign patients, including patients from the countries with a highly developed medicine, such as Israel, Japan, USA, UAE. Also, the successful liver transplantation performed by the team of specialists led by O.O. Rummo to Israel statesman M. Dogan, in which A.E. Shcherba took an active part gained much international attention.

An incomplete list of scientific interests of A.E. Shcherba and his practical achievements are striking in their vastness: the development and implementation in clinical practice of modern surgical technologies for the treatment of patients with severe lesions of the liver, pancreas, liver transplantation, the use of cellular technologies, optimization of immunosuppression, the principles of selecting a recipient and allocating a donor organ, transplantation oncology, liver surgery and the principles of vascular isolation and blood saving, the principles of biliary reconstruction, liver pathology during pregnancy and trauma, the use of vascular allografts in hepatopancreatic surgery, portal hypertension syndrome.

In 2018, without discontinuing his practical work, A.E. Shcherba successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic: "Prediction and complex treatment of postoperative dysfunction of the liver transplants" in the specialty 14.01.24 - "transplantation and artificial organs" (supervisor - Academician of the National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Rummo O.O.), and in 2023 he was awarded the title of professor.

It should be noted that the scientific activity of Alexei Evgenievich is marked by the desire for a deep pathophysiological elaboration of the studied problem. This allows the author to make highly reasoned conclusions and recommendations. And in daily practice, encyclopedic knowledge, experience and critical thinking allow him to use the same pathophysiological approach to choosing a treatment strategy and tactics for each patient, to logically justify his decisions during rounds, numerous consultations and discussions with colleagues.

Since 2018 up to the present, Shcherba A.E. has been Head of the surgical service of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology" as deputy director for surgical work.

One Ph.D thesis has been defended under the supervision of A.E. Shcherba. The results of his scientific research are shown in more than 300 publications. He is the author and co-author of 10 patents of the Republic of Belarus and 1 Eurasian patent. Alexey Evgenievich has been actively teaching since the beginning of the organization of the department of transplantology of BelMAPO, since 2010 - as associate professor, and since 2018 as Professor of the department.

Achievements of A.E. Shcherba were marked bya number of government awards of the Republic of Belarus - for the work "Development and implementation of organ transplantation technologies in children and adults" in 2016 A.E. Shcherba, together with co-authors, was awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus.

Alexei Evgenievich was awarded the title of "Excellent Health Worker of the Republic of Belarus", he was awarded the diploma of Minsk City Executive Committee, the medal of the Belarusian Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, a badge "For Contribution to the Development of Healthcare in Kazakhstan".

In addition to the professional and scientific accomplishments A.E. Shcherba enjoys great respect and love not only among the staff of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology", but also among all his colleagues - for his readiness to help immediately, take responsibility, for his innate tact, goodwill and respect in relation to subordinates, and to everyone who has ever addressed him.

Alexei Evgenievich meets his 50th birthday in the prime of his creative powers, full of energy and new ideas among like-minded people dedicated to the common goal.

The staff of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology" is convinced that, despite all the achievements, Alexei Evgenievich is just entering the period of his creative rise. “The main matches have not been played...”, as Eduard Khil once sang.

The staff of the State Institution "Minsk Scientific and Practical Center for Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology" heartily congratulates Alexei Evgenievich on his anniversary, wishes him health, creative success and well-being!