Unveiling of the plaque
At the invitation of the Head of the Department, Dr. Paweł Łęgosz, the ceremonial unveiling was attended by the representatives of the rector's authorities, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, the director of UCC MUW, heads of departments and units of the Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital as well as Professor Gruca's immediate family. After the unveiling of the plaque, the guests visited the Memorial Chamber, which contains memorablia of Professor Gruca as well as memorabilia related to the history of the Warsaw orthopedic department.
About Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the Locomotion System
The Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the Locomotion System UCC MUW, whose foundations were laid by Prof. Gruca, is considered the cradle of Polish orthopedics. The department is currently the largest orthopedic department in Poland and the largest department at UCC MUW. It is one of the most important orthopedic centers in Poland.
The building at 4 Lindley Street is called "Gruca's Palace." Professor Gruca not only designed the layout of the rooms himself, but also spent a lot of time working out various technical details and consulting on the construction site. The building was commissioned in 1957 and will soon be renovated as part of the revitalization of the Lindleya campus.
About Professor Adam Gruca
Prof. Adam Gruca was born on December 3, 1893. In 1913, he began his studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, which - interrupted by service in the army - he completed in 1922. In 1947, Adam Gruca became an associate professor and was given the position of the head of the Third Chair and Surgical Department of the Infant Jesus Hospital, which, after its incorporation into the Medical Academy established three years later, was renamed the Orthopedic Department. In 1950-1960, Professor Adam Gruca was also a national specialist in orthopedics and traumatology and a scientific consultant at the Department branch in Konstancin. At the same time, he gave lectures to students on bone and joint tuberculosis treatment surgery, orthopedics and traumatology of the musculoskeletal system. He also held the position of the head of the rehabilitation department in Ciechocinek for many years.
The professor was the author of nearly two hundred scientific papers published in ten languages. He patented twenty-two devices in the field of mechanics of orthopedic surgery, and gave more than two hundred and fifty lectures at national and international conferences, ha was the author of a three-volume textbook Orthopedic Surgery, many studies of the entire treatment of orthopedic conditions, medical devices, methods of surgery, which still serve medicine today. He was involved in the development of methods of treating congenital and acquired defects of the musculoskeletal system, including congenital dislocation of the hip by means of alloplasty. He was one of the first in the world to implant a metal hip joint. He developed new methods of surgical and orthopedic management of flaccid and spastic paralysis, including grafting the flexors of the lower leg onto the femoral epicondyle.
