About Us

International College of Surgeons

The International College of Surgeons is the oldest international surgical organisation. It is the only organisation of its kind that officially collaborates with the World Health Organisation (WHO). It was founded in 1935 in Geneva on the initiative of Hungarian surgeon Max Thorek, with four other prominent European surgeons by his side, one of which was Czech professor Arnold Jirásek. Max Thorek then arranged for the representative headquarters of the organisation in Chicago, where it still resides today, alongside the International Museum of Surgical Science. This is where the ICS resides today. Max Thorek worked his way up in the U.S. to become one of the foremost surgeons worldwide, particularly in the field of oesophageal surgery.

Currently, the organisation boasts 67 national sections in 112 countries across the globe. It is a selective organisation that attends to the high professional and moral qualities of its members. It publishes its own journal titled "International Surgery," organises regular worldwide, continental, and national congresses, and a number of other forms of international communications. The ICS works to bring the modern surgical practices of the developed countries to less-developed countries around the world. It has at its disposal an extensive collection from surgical history in its own museum in Chicago.

ICS Czech Section

The Czechoslovakian Section (now Czech Section) of the ICS is one of the oldest in the world. As an agent of democracy in medicine, it was a thorn in the side of the official political circles under both totalitarian regimes, and its activities were either suppressed or significantly limited. However, thanks to its national presidents, the ICS never became subservient to the non-democratic system, instead standing on the sidelines during the communist era.

Past presidents of the ICS Czechoslovakian and Czech Sections:

During the era of the independent Czech Republic, the renaissance of the ICS Czech Section was led primarily by MUDr. M. Hájek, later with the help of the secretary of science K. Novak. In 1999 and again in 2005, the ICS Czech Section organised two successful continental congresses, and among other international activities, developed a collaboration with the advanced surgical sector in Japan. The ICS Czech Section works to open the lines of communication with modern surgical systems for even those colleagues who lack the finances and time for long-term educational residencies, as well as the finances for attendance at costly congresses abroad. In the Czech Republic, the ICS functions as a citizens' association, registered with the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, as its own legal entity. It survives primarily on the basis of membership dues and sponsorship grants. Following the completion of an intense admissions process, members may use the title FICS after their name, upon approval by the Chicago headquarters.