Dr. Pál Siklós

Then I think the main manual specialty presented itself: surgery, which was also practiced by your parents.

Yes, if my surgeon father had not strongly dissuaded me from it. He advised me to think about a minor surgery profession. I would have loved to have become an otolaryngologist or an ophthalmologist, but at that time microscopic surgery was spreading in both fields. As a short-sighted person, I was afraid that if the condition of my eyes worsened over time, it would cause serious difficulties in microscopic surgery. Urology came up again, but I felt that there were too many male patients there. I crossed all of these off my list in my head. So what was left then? That's how I found obstetrics and gynecology. And as I thought about it more and more, I realized that this was the profession that only reminded me of beautiful and good things. In my fifth year, I did a week of residential obstetrics, so I was able to assist in the birth of all the babies, which really enchanted me at the time. The memory of previous good experiences during my graduation period confirmed the correctness of my decision.

You had found your vocation, your life purpose, but how difficult was it to find a job that suited you in Budapest at that time?

Finding a job as an obstetrician-gynecologist was the most difficult thing at that time. However, with a good career path and a commendable degree, it was worth applying for university positions, as they had been evaluating us for years. As the second in my year, I was admitted to the Women's Clinic No. 2, which was led by Professor Imre Zoltán, who was already internationally renowned at the time. Incidentally, it was at his suggestion that the university took the name Semmelweis. He was excellent both professionally and personally, everyone respected him very much, and he truly valued his colleagues. He always had meetings in the morning, and sometimes he interrupted a ministerial meeting by phone, just so that his thirty doctors wouldn’t have to wait for him. I particularly sympathized with his mentality. I was happy that I could start working at this institute.

Clinical work is a rather complex task. Did you like it?

Very much so! A clinician has to do research and education in addition to treating, which is very exciting. It was often not easy to reconcile all of this, but I really liked teaching. I did my scientific work at the National Institute of Oncology, where I dealt with tumor immunology. Despite my young age, I also managed a lot of deliveries during the 17 years I spent there, so I had a huge patient base in a short time.

Why did you choose Szent István Hospital after 17 years?

Another professional challenge was that my best friend and I were given the opportunity to manage and renew the hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department. My colleague had more experience in gynecological oncology, while I had more experience in obstetrics, so we complemented each other well. Over the course of nearly 25 years, we completely transformed and flourished the department.

What does this mean in numbers?

When we arrived there, there were 700 births in this department, within 10 years we multiplied this number, and by the end of the 2000s we had 3,300 births. Although we didn’t have room to expand the hospital, we created two foundations right from the start (one for obstetrics and one for gynecological tumors), with the help of which we completely transformed first the obstetrics and then the gynecological section. Previously, the delivery room had three beds next to each other, separated by a sheet; you can imagine what the mothers giving birth next to each other must have experienced. We almost immediately converted these into several single beds. We made the wards more comfortable with a bathroom and created rooms with single children’s beds. We created a truly baby-friendly hospital and developed a completely new approach. We introduced birth preparation and made fathers active participants in the birth. We provided many alternative options, for example, we were the first to offer a bath tub. I always tried to turn breech fetuses externally in order to reduce the rate of cesarean sections. As a result, a significant proportion of babies, 50 percent, turn into a head-first position. Unfortunately, this is still done in very few places today, while this procedure is an important part of the protocol all over the world.

Have you also reformed the field of gynecology?

Of course. We started operating with new, world-class surgical techniques. After the so-called uterus-preserving Wertheim operation, for example, patients were able to carry a pregnancy to term. This was a huge breakthrough in oncology, as it gave young women struggling with cervical cancer the opportunity to eventually have a baby. There is no greater feeling of success than when we save the life of a twenty-year-old woman, and then within 3 years she gives birth to her first child with us, then her second, and she is still doing well after many decades. We have introduced a lot of radical surgeries throughout the country, and colleagues have come to us for further training, even from abroad, to learn these modern interventions. We have performed a lot of surgeries, and our surgery numbers have been outstanding in these two decades. It was a fantastic feeling that my colleagues and I were able to form such a great department.

I guess it was serious work to forge such a team together mentally…

That's right, because in addition to all the beauty, we also had to deal with countless difficulties. There was a case - fortunately rare - when our patient developed serious bleeding during childbirth, a medical team was there in a matter of moments, and we successfully solved the problem that arose. The care of patients struggling with a relapsed tumor and undergoing several heroic surgeries is also emotionally taxing, especially if we lose them despite the great struggles. We created therapy groups with the help of a psychiatrist to process this severe psychological trauma. We were in constant development.

What attracted you to the Róbert Private Hospital?

I felt it was a great honor when in 2016 the founder of the hospital, Chief Physician Szakonyi and owner Csaba Lantos approached me to take over the position of Medical Director. This is a completely different type of task than what I have had before, managing a private hospital was a new challenge for me. I thought I still had enough energy for this, and I also like to try myself in new situations. It was unusual at first, I had to change my perspective. I had to get to know other specialties besides obstetrics and gynecology better, as there are quite a few of them here. I knew that I had to think about a higher level of care than state healthcare, since the most important measure here is the patient satisfaction index. It was extremely difficult, but interesting to learn about this profession, which I have come to love very much by now.

You still lead many births. What motivates you to do this even after 4 decades?

The beauty of birth. After many thousands of births, I still feel a huge emotion when I help a newborn baby to be born. I love new mothers very much. And it is so nice to see when new fathers hold their children for the first time, how their eyes fill with tears as they look at each other with the mother. Of course, you don't like to get up at two in the morning for a birth at such an age, but for some reason. I still get really emotional when a family is born before my eyes.

Your room is full of wonderful sculptures and paintings. Does a beautiful work of art calm you?

I like to admire us, and the paintings are the works of my wife, who is also a doctor. I admire the way she paints, her love for beauty and harmony has also had a significant impact on me in the more than forty years we have spent together. Thanks to his help, the ward I created at István Hospital was aesthetically special. We are still in the process of expanding the hospital here, but we will soon start decorating it.

And what do you do to recharge your batteries?

Luckily, I can still do a lot of sports. I play tennis and golf regularly. We have been hanging out with my friends for decades, and my wife and I often go to the theater. One of the biggest relaxations for me is the sea and the sunshine in the summer. And the best pastime is playing and talking with my three adorable grandchildren on weekends.

Will any of your children continue the family tradition?

My son chose a different direction, but my daughter will soon be taking her specialist exam in obstetrics and gynecology. I never talked about it. She grew up knowing that this was my life, and the mystery of birth touched her very much.