Prof. Svetomir Ivanović, PhD was born on June 15th 1943 in Peć. He finished elementary and high school in Peć. He enrolled the Faculty of Medicine in the academic year 1961/62. He graduated in 1966.
Having completed his medical internship and served his military service, he was employed in the medical center in Peć where he worked as a general practitioner for two years. He got the residency in neurosurgery in 1971 and started it at the Clinic of Neurosurgery of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade in the same year. Owing to his outstanding dedication, he was admitted on a permanent basis at the Clinic of Neurosurgery of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade in 1973. He passed the residency exam in neurosurgery with excellent success in 1975. He worked at the position of the head of the neurosurgical team in Tripoli (Libya) within the international exchange and technical support for one year (1975-1976).
He defended his Master's thesis titled “Pituitary adenomas and indications for surgical treatment” in 1977. His PhD thesis titled “Histopathology and treatment of pituitary adenomas” was defended in 1979. He was appointed head of neuro-casualty department of the Clinic of Neurosurgery in 1977 and held that post for seven years. He was appointed Head of “C” department of the Clinic of Neurosurgery in 1991. He was appointed first deputy director of the Institute of Neurosurgery in 2000.
He was appointed assistant professor in 1994, and became professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade in 1999. The Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies elected Prof. Dr Svetomir Ivanović its’ honorary member in 1996. He was elected associate member of CANU (Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts) in 2004. He received the PLAQUE of the Clinic of Neurosurgery for special merits in development of pituitary surgery. He has been the secretary of the Neurosurgical Section of the Serbian Medical Society since 1992.
So far he has published 131 professional and scientific paper in foreign and local magazines. One of his papers was published in the most prestigeous world magazine “Lancet“. He has published four books and 4 chapters in books of other authors. The total number of scientific papers published in foreign and local magazines is 131. He was quoted seven times.
From 2006 to 2010 he was the director of the special hospital “Ostrog“ and the full time professor of the private faculty of medicine“US Medical School“.
Since 2010 he has been engaged as the part-time associate in the first private hospital “Codra“ inPodgorica.
During 2011 he completed a joint project “Cerebrovascular diseases”. The respective monograph has been published. Promotion was held in CANU (Podgorica), at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade and at the Faculty of Medicine in Banja Luka.
The second project “Specificity of risk factors of cerebrovascular diseases in Montenegro” was completed at the beginning of 2011, and the monograph with the same title was published in December 2011.
During 2011 he participated in 12 scientific conferences.
The scientific conference “Lumbar disc herniation – medical and social problem” is being prepared.
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTION
Prof.Dr Svetomir Ivanović has expressed the outstanding enthusiasm in surgical work. So far he has performed more that twenty thousand neurosurgeries which certainly represents a record in his country. He was the first in Yugoslavia to introduce the transphenoidal approach to pituitary tumors in 1988. More than 3000 surgeries of this type have been performed at the Institute of Neurosurgery of the Clinical Center of Serbia since then. He was the first in Belgrade to operate aneurysm of basilar artery in 1984. He introduced ventral discectomy and osteophytectomy in regular clinical practice. He made special contribution to surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, modifying the newly introduced method of microvascular decompression by resection of one-third portio maior. He has made a major contribution to spinal tumor surgery, especially to intramedullary localization.
TEACHING ACTIVITY
Prof.Dr Svetomir Ivanović started his teaching activity in 1982 by holding lectures to postgraduate students in the field of neuroendocrinology. From 1991 to 1994 he held regular lectures to residents in emergency medicine. Having been elected assistant professor in 1994, he lectured regularly and continuously to full time students. When he was elected associate professor in 1999, he became a member of the commission for taking resident exams in neurosurgery. He has been holding regular lectures to postgraduates in surgical anatomy and postgraduates in emergency medicine.
He was the main speaker at the symposium, namely mini symposium “ASPIRATIONS AND INNOVATIONS IN MEDICINE” titled “SURGICAL TREATMENT OF PAINFUL CONDITIONS” held in December 2004.
He organized and presided two scientific conferences in the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts.
AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC WORK
1.PLAQUE of the Clinic of Neurosurgery for special merits in development of pituitary surgery, on the occasion of 60th anniversary of neurosurgical services in Yugoslavia.
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
CANU (Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts) selectedthe associate professor in Podgorica on April 26, 2004.
The Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies elected Prof. Dr Svetomir Ivanović its honorary member in 1996.
He presided the VIII Congress of Yugoslav neurosurgeons with international participation, in Belgrade in 1998.
He presided the III Congress of Romanian neurosurgeons in Bucharest in 1995.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Prof.Dr Svetomir Ivanović spent about two years in professional training abroad. On three occasions he was a fellow neurosurgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School) in 1977, 1978 and 1981, performing experimental work on neural and vascular anastomoses, proton-beam therapy and development of pituitary surgery. He spent nine months there in total.
He spent three months in the North-Western hospital (Chicago) as a resident, training in pediatric neurosurgery. He spent one month in Bergen as the guest of Prof. Baklund, training in implantation of radioactive elements in craniopharyngioma cysts.
In Karolinska hospital (Stockholm) he became familiar with the Gama-knife therapy.
He was trained in endovascular embolization at the University Clinic in Zurich (Switzerland) with prof. Valavanis on three occasions.
He was the guest of prof. Konovalov in the spinal center of the Burdenko Institute, Moscow, owing to his interest in problems of spinal stimulation.
In the Institute of neurosurgery in Kiev (Ukraine) he was the guest of prof. Ramadanov, improving his knowledge in endovascular embolization of brain vascular abnormalities.
From 1976 he participated in almost all world and European congresses till the one in Lisbon in 2003. He presented numerous papers at these congresses (Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, Moscow, Sydney, Acapulco, Barcelona, Copenhagen, etc). He participated in a number of selective symposiums (Santiago de Chile, Nagoja, Gold Coast, Vienna, Chicago, Toronto etc.) and held several lectures on these occasions.
