The practice of vascular surgery in Hungary was initiated in 1952 and
its progress can be seen as beginning with a ''trial'' stage from 1952
to 1960. During the period from 1960 to 1980, the first of the operat
ions known today were performed, and since 1991, vascular surgery has
become routinely practiced, with the number of vascular reconstruction
s each year exceeding 6,000. From a population of 10 million inhabitan
ts in Hungary, a total of 6,892 arterial reconstructions were carried
out during 1990 by 150 vascular surgeons, with a total of 400 allocate
d beds.