On 1 December, ophthalmic surgeries began in the historic palace in Lublin.

After years of dreaming about establishing the European Centre for Innovative Macular Disease Therapy in the restored Chrzanowski Palace on Chmielna Street in Lublin, Prof. Robert Rejdak and his team performed the first eye surgeries here today. It’s a moment that symbolically crowns years of effort and opens an entirely new chapter in Lublin’s ophthalmology.

“This is an ultramodern operating suite equipped with two operating rooms and the latest visualization technology, including 3D microscopes and intraoperative OCT, as well as state-of-the-art devices for intraocular procedures. At this point, the European Centre for Innovative Macular Disease Therapy offers optimal diagnostic and surgical capabilities,” noted Prof. Robert Rejdak, Head of the Department of General Ophthalmology at the University Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Lublin and President of the Society of Ophthalmic Surgeons of Poland (SCOP)

Today, the Ophthalmology Centre of University Clinical Hospital No. 1 has a total of two operating blocks with five operating rooms—three of which, previously used by all ophthalmic clinics, are located in Building E. The professor recalled that the idea of establishing the European Centre for Innovative Macular Disease Therapy was born out of close collaboration with leading European ophthalmic institutions, including the European School for Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology in Lugano, which also operates a satellite training centre in Lublin.

The Lublin Centre may become a key response to the challenges facing healthcare systems in Europe, including Poland. It will also help expand access to macular disease treatment and create conditions to improve the quality of outpatient and one-day ophthalmic care. Macular diseases are becoming an epidemic of our time, with the number of patients steadily increasing, Prof. Rejdak concluded.

To inaugurate the new operating suite, Prof. Robert Rejdak performed eight cataract removal surgeries with artificial lens implantation.