Two views on the family succession problem with regards to Nikolai Platonovich Bisenkov and Leonid Nikolaevich Bisenkov anniversaries

It is known that N.I. Pirogov sharply criticized nepotism in his diary in the history of the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy in the middle of the 19th century, designating this phenomenon with the term “nepotism.” The great surgeon and patriot’s position caused goes against other examples when family relations became a springboard into our academy’s future. It is a rare coincidence when the same family celebrates the major father and son anniversaries. The family of Professors Bisenkov marked two anniversaries in 2021. The dates’ coincidence became the reason for the analysis of the relations that developed at different stages of a complex life associated with wars, surgery, and teaching. Most of the article’s authors witnessed the exchange of life and surgical experience of the Professors Bisenkovs, and were participants in the acute discussions and course of scientific research in the thoracic surgery field. Nikolai Platonovich Bisenkov lived by the plans, creative successes, and failures of his son and compared his front-line experience as a medical battalion surgeon with new surgery possibilities. His insight and critical assessment of the changes that he learned about through daily information from his son were surprising, about the current clinical work of the department. Many new research technologies were initiated at the Department of Operative Surgery, which was headed by Bisenkov Sr., thanks to close contact through his son in the clinic for the highest level and fame known to surgeons of all the Soviet Union’s republics. Personal views, creative, and scientific continuation of Nikolai Platonovich was found to be in continuation in his son. Leonid Nikolaevich defined the main paradigms of his work as the introduction into the clinical practice of the department of video thoracoscopic interventions for breast injuries, original a minimally invasive treatment method of purulent-septic diseases, the development of the most complex surgical interventions — extended and combined resections for paracancrotic changes in patients with lung cancer, as well as simultaneous operations for polyneoplasia, high-quality training of young surgeons. Nikolai Platonovich and Leonid Nikolaevich Bisenkov had warm relations as father and son, as two comrades, as two surgeons with combat experience, and as two brilliant scientists.