Prim. Marko Zupančič, MD, PhD, a distinguished urologist from Slovenia, is well known in the medical circles as an advocate for the application of laparoscopic surgical technique in the domain of urology. His patients, coming from the whole region and all walks of life, particularly note not only his experienced expertise, but also his heartfelt empathy and open, honest communication.
Education
Dr. Zupančič graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ljubljana in 1986. A little over a year later, he began his career as a urology resident at the Department of Urology at the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital in Slovenia. At the time, he had the honor and privilege to study under two of the most prominent, renowned urologists in former Yugoslavia. The first was a pioneer of transurethral prostate and bladder resection in all of south-east Europe Prim. Bojan Pirkmajer, MD, who had already begun the development of minimally invasive surgery in urology back in 1973. The second was Prim. Nado Vodopija, MD, PhD, who began performing endourological surgeries at the tail end of the ‘80s, and he introduced the laparoscopic surgical technique to Slovenia and the wider region in 1990. After specializing in Slovenj Gradec and at the Urology Clinic “UKC Ljubljana” in 1992, Dr.
Zupančič continued his professional development abroad as well. He perfected the classical surgical technique in treating of different urological cancers in Essen, and the laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in Paris.
In addition to routine clinical work at the hospital, Dr. Zupančič honed his skills by attaining a Master’s degree, as well as a PhD. In 2007, he defended his Master dissertation on the topic of the Value of the Colour Doppler Imaging in Ultrasound-guided Needle Biopsy of the Prostate. The diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer have always been a particular point of interest for Dr. Zupančič, and he took part in multiple international clinical studies in this field.
He also attained another PhD at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Maribor in 2021, having studied the potential connection between some benign histological
changes in prostate tissue and the possible progression of non-aggressive, indolent prostate carcinoma.
Work experience
Having graduated from university and passed the state exam, Dr. Zupančič spent several months working as a General Practitioner in Slovenj Gradec, after which he was hired at the Department of Urology at the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital at the end of 1987, where he remains employed to this day. Between 2002 and 2006 he served as Medical Director of the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital. In 2007, he took up the mantle of Chief of Urology department in Slovenj Gradec, where he was in charge until mid-2021. After that, he accepted the offered position of Director and leading urologist at the new Special Hospital for Urology, UroAdria, in Belgrade. In May 2022, he moved to Montenegro, where he works part-time at the Codra Hospital in Podgorica.
Professional development and experiences
Thanks to a series of fortunate events and excellent opportunities to professionally develop in Slovenj Gradec, and due to his surgical passion as well, Dr. Zupančič has accumulated a remarkable number of more than 12.500 surgical procedures in his 35 years of clinical practice. When asked about his experience, he jokes that he had performed surgeries on more people than even live in his hometown. More than half of these procedures involve transurethral surgery of the prostate and urine bladder, as well as endoscopic kidney and ureter surgeries. A third of the procedures was laparoscopic.
As a member of a pioneer group which introduced and spread the laparoscopic surgical technique in Slovenia and across the Balkans, and with the support of his teacher Dr. Vodopija, in the nineties and early two-thousands, Dr. Zupančič was the first urologist in the region who performed the following laparoscopic urology surgeries: extraperitoneal nefrectomy (1994), pyeloplasty (1995), ureterolithotomy (1997), pyelolithotomy (1999), radical and partial nephrectomy (2000), radical cystectomy (2004), and by 2010, supratrigonal cystectomy, cystolithotomy, prostate adenomectomy and rectovesical fistula repair as well.
In addition to keeping busy in the OR, Dr. Zupančič had also been a member of different organizations that strive to raise standards in the field of urology on a state level. He was part of many interdisciplinary medical boards and commissions for the improvement of Healthcare System in Slovenia. Due to the quality of his work, his efforts to promote healthcare, and his overall contributions to medicine, Dr. Zupančič was awarded the honorable title of “Primarius” by the Minister of Health of Slovenia, Dr. Dorjan Marušič, in 2010.
He is an active member of the Slovenian Urological Association, the European Association of Urology, and for the last fifteen years, he has had close-knit ties with the Serbian Urological Association and the Montenegro Urological Association, too.
Educational efforts
Dr. Zupančič has been sharing his expertise and knowledge with younger colleagues for years. In 2006, he was appointed to an assistant position at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Maribor, as a teaching assistant at the Department of Surgery. Two years later, the Medical Chamber of Slovenia made him the head mentor of urology. He has been an organizer and active participant of numerous domestic and international congresses, conferences, and hands-on workshops on minimally invasive surgical techniques in urology.
He has published multiple scientific articles, and he is a regular member of multidisciplinary unions in charge of educating patients and raising awareness of healthy lifestyle. He particularly prides himself on his time as Chief of Urology at the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital, because the department succeeded at retaining the unofficial status of an international educational center in endourology and laparoscopy at that time.
Partnering with patients
Raised to be compassionate and humane throughout his childhood, and taught wisdom and empathy during his studies, Dr. Zupančič stresses the importance of establishing a good rapport with patients from day one. The relationship established needs to be based on mutual trust, open communication, and thorough understanding of the patient’s health condition. Their diagnosis and all possible treatments thereof need to be delivered calmly and clearly, to avoid causing undue stress. He believes that the combination of top-notch medicine, a positive patient thinking, as well as trust and partnership within the whole team are crucial to patient recovery and satisfaction.