Ljubljana University Medical Centre

The Ljubljana University Medical Centre (Slovene: Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, abb. UKC Ljubljana) or Ljubljana UMC is the largest hospital centre in Slovenia based in Ljubljana. It was officially opened on 29 November 1975 and as of December 2019^[update] has over 2,100 beds and over 8,300 employees, making it one of the largest hospital centres in Central Europe.^[1]

Ljubljana University Medical Centre
Geography
Location	Zaloška cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Organisation
Funding	Public hospital
Type	Public Academic Medical Center
Affiliated university	University of Ljubljana
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Beds	2,138
Helipad	Yes
History
Opened	29 November 1975; 48 years ago (1975-11-29)
Links
Website	www.kclj.si
Lists	Hospitals in Slovenia

It is the main training base for the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine, which is housed nearby. Since February 2023, the Director General of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre has been the traumatologist Marko Jug.^[2][3]

The construction of the central building started in 1966 and was completed in 1975.^[4] The design was work by a group of architects led by Stanko Kristl [sl] (diagnostic, therapeutic, and service facilities – DTS) and the architect Janez Trenz (in-patient wards). In 2005, a company led by the architect Uroš V. Birsa designed a new emergency centre.^[5]

History

• 1966: Start of construction works on the central building. The construction, which started on 13 July, took place according to the plans by Medico Engineering led by the Slovenian architect Stanko Kristl [sl].^[6]
• 1975: Ceremonial opening of the Ljubljana UMC. The total price of the construction equaled 617 million Yugoslav dinars in 1975, which was recalculated to 617 million euro in 2020.^[7]
• 1980: The long-time president of the SFR Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, dies of gangrene-induced infection in this hospital.
• 2006: Ljubljana Medical Centre renames itself into Ljubljana University Medical Centre,^[8] emphasising the collaboration of experts of different specialties and its role as a teaching hospital of the nearby medical faculty.^[9]
• 2007: Opening of a new building of the Division of Neurology (Nevrološka klinika), the Emergency Department of the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services, and the heliport on the roof of the building; renovation of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery (Klinika za otorinolaringologijo in cervikofacialno kirurgijo).
• 2009: Opening of a new building of the Division of Paediatrics (Pediatrična klinika).

• 2010: The first ever robotic-assisted operation at the femoral vasculature is performed at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery.^[10][11]
• 2016: Discovery of the first scientific evidence that the Zika virus infects the foetus brain through the infected mother and can cause permanent brain damage and microcephaly.^[12]
• 2018: Total nose reconstruction in two stages using only the patient's tissue; the nose was reconstructed on the forearm using a 3D model, following which the nose was placed on the face.^[13]
• 2018: Both lungs of a patient simultaneously transplanted for the first time.^[14]
• 2018: First auditory brainstem implant.
• 2019: First tumour surgery with removal of two complete lumbar vertebrae.^[15]
• 2020: Coping with the COVID-19 epidemic
• 2020: Innovative method of approach for coronary angiography and aortic valve replacement via the ascending aorta^[16]
• 2020: First lung transplantation in a child with simultaneous heart transplantation in another child ^[17]
• 2022: Discovery of a gene for dilated cardiomyopathy, a severe heart muscle disease, and a gene linked to severe neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children^[18]

See also

• List of hospitals in Slovenia

References

1. Klinični center Ljubljana (medical centre). Ljubljana.si. Accessed 2009-06-24. Archived 27 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Marko Jug novi generalni direktor UKC Ljubljana" [Marko Jug Becomes the New Director General of the Ljubljana UMC] (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 25 January 2023.
3. "Vlada dala soglasje k imenovanju novega generalnega direktorja UKC-ja Ljubljana" [The Government Gives its Consent to the Appointment of the new Director General of the UMC Ljubljana] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenija. 2 February 2023.
4. Štrumbl, Žarko (2018). "Gradnja UKC 1966–1975: Gradivo o Univerzitetnem kliničnem centru Ljubljana" [Construction of the UMC 1966–1975: Material on the University Medical Centre Ljubljana] (PDF). Arhivi (in Slovenian). 45 (1). Archival Association of Slovenia, Archives of Slovenia. ISSN 0351-2835.
5. Polona, Balantič (5 February 2018). "Stanko Kristl: arhitektu so nekoč zaupali in zato so bili veliki projekti možni" [Stanko Kristl: the Architect was Once Trusted and that's Why Big Projects Were Possible] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenia.
6. "2015 Marked Three Important Anniversaries for the UMC Ljubljana" (PDF). Internal Newspaper of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. No. 1. April 2015. p. 5.
7. "Opening of the New Clinical Centre, a Milestone in the Development of Top-class Medicine in Slovenia" (PDF). No. 5. November 2020. p. 10.
8. "Odlok o preoblikovanju javnega zdravstvenega zavoda Klinični center v javni zdravstveni zavod Univerzitetni klinični center" [Ordinance on the restructing of the public health institute University Medical Centre Ljubljana]. Regulations of Slovenia Registry (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
9. "Svet KC pritrdil preimenovanju v Univerzitetni klinični center" [The Board of the Medical Centre Agrees to the Renaming into the University Medical Centre]. Dnevnik.si (in Slovenian). 15 June 2006.
10. "V UKC Ljubljana prvič na svetu uporabili žilnega robota za posege na femoralnem žilju" [The First Use of a Vascular Robot for Procedures on Femoral Vasculature] (in Slovenian). 8 November 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
11. "UKC Ljubljana kljub finančnim omejitvam uspešen v razvoju medicine" [UMC Ljubljana Successfully Develops Medicine Despite Financial Limitations] (in Slovenian). 30 March 2011.
12. "Slovenian scientists first to prove link between Zika and microcephaly".
13. "Outstanding achievement by Slovene surgeons: Nose reconstructed on the forearm and transferred to the face".
14. "A big success for Slovenian medicine: A first transplant of both lungs".
15. "UKC Ljubljana: Operacija tumorja z odstranitvijo dveh celotnih ledvenih vretenc" [UKC Ljubljana: Tumour surgery with removal of two complete lumbar vertebrae]. Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 10 March 2020.
16. "Bolnika operirali na inovativen način, ki še ni bil opisan v strokovni literaturi" [Patient operated on in an innovative way never before described in the literature]. 24ur.com (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
17. "V UKC Ljubljana prva presaditev pljuč pri otroku" [First lung transplantation in a child at UKC Ljubljana] (in Slovenian). Retrieved 4 September 2020.
18. "Velik uspeh v UKC Ljubljana: odkrili gena za človeške bolezni" [Great success at UKC Ljubljana: gene for human disease discovered]. N1 (in Slovenian). 20 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

External links

Media related to Ljubljana University Medical Centre at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

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