On the 9th November 2019, the Croatian Pain Society – Croatian Medical Association (the Croatian EFIC Chapter) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the work in the Pain Department of the University Hospital Osijek. The Pain Department developed and grew to become a Pain Institute, and over time became the largest pain management center in Croatia and the region.
Mira Fingler, M.D established the Department in 1989 and she led it until her retirement in 2013. Ivan Rados, M.D. Ph.D. led the Pain Department from then until the present moment. The Croatian Ministry of Health in 2019 awarded the Pain Institute with the title of Reference Centre for Pain Neuromodulation. The Pain Institute is the leading Croatian educational center in the field of pain medicine and, with eight doctors, now performs pharmacotherapy, non-invasive physical therapies and minimally invasive techniques for chronic pain treatment like epidural steroid injections, infiltrations of sympathetic ganglia, Racz procedure, radiofrequency procedures, cryo analgesia procedures, percutaneous laser disc decompression, and spinal cord stimulation. A multidisciplinary program for the treatment of chronic pain was established in 2014 and works continuously to this day.
EFIC wish Ivan, Mira and all those behind the Pain Department congratulations and every success for the future.
