Waldemar Olszewski

Prof. Waldemar Olszewski

Prof. Waldemar Lech Olszewski (born 3 September 1931, Piastów, Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish lymphologist.^[1][2][3] His main area of study is the human lymphatic system.^[4][5] Clinical and research interests comprise vascular surgery, transplantation, physiology and surgery of the lymphatic system^[6] and immunology. He discovered fundamental processes in human tissues connected with function of the lymphatic system.^[7][8]

He has published around 600 publications, 7 scientific books and is a member of numerous medical bodies.^[9]

Early life

Olszewski was born 1931 in Piastow/Warsaw, Poland into a family of landowners in Central Poland with father a linguist and banking specialist. He received General Certificate of Education in 1948 in Warsaw. Started university studies first at Faculty of Law, Warsaw University in 1948 (through 1950) to change for Faculty of Medicine Warsaw University in 1949. Graduated in 1954, passed Board in Surgery exams in 1962. Received degree of PhD in 1962 and D.Science in 1968. Since 1970 associate professor at the Dept. of Surgery, Medical Academy, and Medical Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, since 1978 until now full professor at the same centers including since 1997 chairman of Clinical Department of Surgery, Ministry of Internal Affaires/Polish Academy of Science Hospital, Warsaw.^[10]

At present Olszewski is at the Medical Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences ^[11][12] (Head of Dept) and Ministry of Internal Affaires Clinical Hospital, Warsaw, Poland (Chief Consultant).

He is the father of one daughter.

Research

Olszewski received postgraduate training and carried out research studies at Hammersmith Hospital, London during the period 1962-63, then at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, between 1968 and 1970. Worked at City Hospital, Warsaw, then Dept. of Surgery, Medical Academy, and Medical Research Center, Warsaw as head of Dept. of Surgical Research & Transplantation and since 1997 as Chief of Clinical Department of Surgery, Ministry of Internal Affaires/Polish Academy of Sciences Hospital, Warsaw. Other professional positions include Visiting Professor at Radiumhospitalet, Oslo, (since 1976-), St.Bartholomew's Medical School, London (since 1994-), Research Officer World Health Organization, Madras-Pondicherry-Benares, India (since 1992-).^[13]

• Served as President of European Society for Surgical Research in 1977-78
• President of International Society of Lymphology in 1989-91
• President of Polish Society for Immunology in 1995-98

Served also as member of editorial boards of many international medical journals among them:^[14][15]

• Lymphology (USA)
• International Angiology (GB)
• Central European Journal of Immunology (Poland)^[16]
• Phlebolinfologia (Spain)
• Cell Transplantation (USA)
• Lymphatic Research and Biology (USA)
• US-Chinese Journal of Lymphology and Oncology (China)
• Indian Medical Research (India)^[17]
• Annals of Transplantation (Poland).

Main scientific contributions include designing and introducing into clinical practice the surgical lympho-venous shunts (1966), discovery of spontaneous rhythmic lymphatic contractility in humans (1980), proving that bacterial factor is responsible for development of human limb lymphedema (1994),^[18] introducing low-dose, long-term penicillin administration for prevention of chronic dermatitis and lymphangitis in Asian countries (1996), detecting the phenomenon of non-specific elimination of cell grafts (1990), preservation of tissues for transplantation in dehydrating sodium chloride (2003).^[19]

Awards and honors

• 1975 International Society of Lymphology (USA)
• 2005 Doctor Honoris Causa^[20] Universita di Genova, Italy
• 2006 National Lymphedema Network USA ^[21][22]
• 2006 Lymphatic Research Foundation NIH (USA)^[23]
• 2006 Polish Academy of Sciences
• 2007 American Society of Lymphology USA
• 2012 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Phlebologie Ratschow Medal^[24]
• 2013 Bene Merito Medal - Polish Foreign Ministry contribution to world medicine ^[25]
• 2013 Theodor Bilharz Research Institute^[26]
• Awards of the Czech Medical Society-Purkynie Medal
• Italian Surgical-Society-Carlo Erba medal

Honorary member of:

• The Society of Polish Surgeons
• Polish Transplantation Society^[27]
• Japanese Surgical Society
• Korean Medical Society
• Argentinian Medical Society
• Italian Society of Lymphology
• Brazilian Society of Angiology

Books

• Olszewski WL (1984). CRC Handbook of Microsurgery 1, 2. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-3920-0. 
• Olszewski WL (1985). Peripheral lymph: formation and immune function. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-6137-0. 
• Olszewski WL (1987). In vivo Migration of Immune Cells. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-5076-X. 
• Olszewski WL (1991). Lymph Stasis: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-6499-X. 
• Olszewski WL (2011). "Pathology and Histochemistry". In Rockson SG, Lee B-B, Bergan JJ. Lymphedema: A Concise Compendium of Theory and Practice. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 0-85729-566-7. ^[28]

References

External links

• Waldemar Lech Olszewski Homepage