On March the 20^th 2018, on the occasion of the 5^th anniversary of Medexpress.pl medical portal, in the hospitable walls of the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw, there was a ceremonial Gala with the participation of the Editors, Friends and Collaborators of the editorial office. On this occasion, special diplomas were also awarded. Among the winners was prof. Henryk Skarżyński, M.D. Ph.D., Dr. h.c. multi, who received a diploma with thanks for his everyday work for the benefit of patients, following impeccable principles, for commitment and sensitivity, as well as patiently informing and educating the public as well as for igniting the passion of helping others.

Among guests honored with occasional diplomas were also: prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz, former Minister of Health, Jarosław Pinkas Ph. D. , Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Beata Małecka – Libera Ph.D., Vice-President of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, former Deputy Minister of Health, prof. Adam Maciejewski, pioneer in the transplantation of face and neck organs in Poland, Ewa Błaszczyk founder of the Akogo? Foundation and “Budzik” Clinic, Maria Ochman, Chairwoman of the National Secretariat for Health Care of NSZZ “Solidarność” and member of the National Development Council under the President of the Republic of Poland, Chairman of the Board of LUX MED Anna Rulkiewicz. During the meeting, guests listened to a special interview with Gala’s guest of honor, prof. Łukasz Szumowski, the Minister of Health.

Presenting the distinctions to Professor, the leading editor-in-chief, Iwona Schymalla and editor Mariusz Gujski Ph.D., paid particular attention to the achievements of prof. Skarżyński in the past five years: the editorial team has awarded a tan diploma for all records and many pioneering activities, including the first implantation of new types of auditory implants in Central and Eastern Europe, for the initiation and preparation of the International Music Festival of Children, Adolescents and Adults with Hearing Impairment “Ślimakowe Rytmy” (“The Beats of Cochlea”) which caused tears of emotions among many listeners, and above all for the introduction of Polish medicine into the world league.

Medexpress.pl is currently one of the most valued professional portals dealing with medical issues, being reliable platform to exchange information on health care and protection. It’s a place where the patients’ voice is treated equally with experts’ and decision makers’ opinions, and the editorial staff supports a reliable and substantive discussion and dialogue.

It is worth adding that the last 5 years is also a very important period in the history if the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing as prof. Henryk Skarżyński initiated pioneer – on national and world scale – operations restoring the hearing to children and adults. The most important achievements during that period are:

1. the first implantation of the Baha® Attract System2 hearing implant in Central and Eastern Europe (2013) – an implant that allows the sound to be transmitted to the inner ear through the cranial bone oscillation, bypassing damaged or undeveloped parts of outer and middle ear. It is an innovative solution of compensating conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness to patients who cannot use the existing solutions due to medical or aesthetic reasons;
2. the first in Poland implantation of the middle ear Cochlear™ MET® implant (2014) – a device for patients who do not have the benefits of hearing aids or who have not yet been qualified for other auditory implants. The special group – due to high natural sound amplification – are seniors at the age of 65 or more;
3. the first in Poland implantation of a new generation of SYNCHRONY type cochlear implant which allows to perform MRI tests, tracking changes in brain after acoustic and electrical stimulation (2015). The first time application of that implant in partial deafness treatment was the first scientific and medical report in contemporary medicine in the world;
4. initiating and preparing the first in the world International Music Festival for Children, Youths and Adults with Hearing Disorders “Beats of Cochlea” – a music festival promoting the artistic skills of people with auditory implants;
5. initiation, preparation of assumptions and implementation of the “Health First” Program – unique on the national scale – a project promoting screening in various areas of medicine such as: otolaryngology, audiology, phoniatry, ophthalmology, periodontics, dermatology, cardiology, dermatology, vascular surgery and others;
6. the world’s first implantation of the Vibrant Soundbridge middle ear implant with LP-Coupler (2017). This operation was the main event during the International BONEBRIDGE & SOUNDBRIDGE Symposium, which was held – for the third time in the world and the first time in Poland, in the World Hearing Center in Kajetany. The Vibrant Soundbridge system with the LP-Coupler is a new type of middle ear implant, i.e. a device implanted in patients who cannot hear well due to a malfunctioning of auditory ossicles;
7. the establishment of a new Guinness Record in the category “Meeting in one place and time of the largest number of people with auditory implants” on the occasion of the 25^th Anniversary of the first implantation of cochlear implant to a deaf person by prof. Henryk Skarżyński;
8. initiating and starting further hearing screening programs in Mazovia. It is the first region in the world where the entire population of children starting school education will be examined. These studies are carried out as part of 41 projects of the Hearing Screening Program for first-grade primary school students from the Masovian Province in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school year. Over 81,000 children will benefit from the research. The Institute’s team, in cooperation with numerous national and foreign centers laid foundations for screening programs – developed methods, procedures and devices used to conduct them. Hearing screening carried out by the Institute in previous years, which already included a population of over 1 million children from primary schools in rural and urban-rural communities throughout Poland, a population of 7 and 12 years old in Warsaw and many towns in Poland, showed that even every sixth child may have different types of hearing problems;
9. initiation and organization of 3 world congresses and several international scientific conferences: 1^st World Tinnitus Congress – under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda; 25^th International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group (IERASG) Biennial Symposium; third in the world and the first in Poland International BONEBRIDGE & SOUNDBRIDGE Symposium, 12^th Scientific and Training Conference of the Audiological Section and Phoniatric Section of the Polish Society of Otorhinolaryngologists of Head and Neck Surgeons, two editions of the national Scientific Conference “Guidelines in otorhinolaryngology, audiology and phoniatrics” organized with the Society of Otolaryngologists, Audiologists and Polish Phoniatrists. Entrusting the organization of these conferences by an international group of specialists proves that prof. Skarżyński and his team are perceived as the undisputed leader and a well-known place on the world map of training and scientific meetings in the field of neurotology, audiology, phoniatrics, clinical engineering, speech therapy and psychology;
10. the first in Central and Eastern Europe implantation of the HiRes Ultra cochlear implant with new electrode HiFocus SlimJ (2017). Elektroda HiFocus SlimJ is a simple electrode with a small diameter of the cross-section. This construction helps to maintain the functional hearing and structure of the patient’s inner ear during implantation;

Additionally, during that period of time, prof. Skarżyński and the team of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing celebrated:

1. 25^th anniversary of the first cochlear implant implantation in Poland by prof. Skarżyński in child and adult patient.
2. 20^th anniversary of opening of the Diagnostic-Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing „Cochlear Center” – the second of this kind in Europe. The center was created so that the first group of patients operated by prof. Henryk Skarżyński was provided with multidisciplinary care and the next patients can benefit from the latest achievements already implemented in the world and have the constant access to these accomplishments.
3. 20^th anniversary establishment of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, which is currently the leading research institute in Poland (A category) and a highly specialized hospital providing comprehensive care to people with hearing, voice, speech, balance and breathing injuries.
4. 15^th anniversary of carried out by prof. Henryk Skarżyński – the first in the world implantation of the cochlear implant in a person with partial deafness. This created a chance to electrically complement normal hearing in the low frequency range up to 500 Hz.