Apolikhin Oleg Ivanovich

Director of N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology (SRIUIR) – branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Chief specialist in reproductive health of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Oleg Apolikhin is a highly qualified specialist in reproductive health, who has made a great contribution to the development of national medicine in the field of urology. He has departmental awards – Certificate of Merit of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Badge of Honor “Excellence in Healthcare”, was awarded with the certificate of Acknowledgement of the President of the Russian Federation. He has been the head of N. Lopatkin SRIUIR since 2007.

Oleg Apolikhin is one of the leading scientists, a leader in the field of urology, andrology and reproductive health. He is an innovator of many practical and fundamental directions in urology. Professor Apolikhin has made a great contribution to the research and development of new methods of treatment and diagnosis of diseases of the urinary system and male genital organs, to the solution of theoretical and practical problems of organization of high-tech and specialized medical care for patients with various urological and andrological diseases, to the development of methods of modernization of health care based on the principles of preventive and evidence-based medicine. Apolikhin’s research work is inextricably linked with practical healthcare.

Prof. Apolikhin’s main areas of work are study and implementation of modern minimally invasive high-tech methods of treatment of urologic cancer patients (brachytherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy, cryoablation and photodynamic therapy); development and implementation of modern methods of diagnostics of urologic cancer with molecular genetic studies for non-invasive diagnostics; diagnostics, treatment and prevention of reproductive dysfunction in men; development of methods of minimally invasive diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders of the lower urinary tract in children and adults.

Oleg Apolikhin pays great attention to the development of regional healthcare, under his leadership the “Urology” program was developed and implemented in the Voronezh region, implementing a comprehensive approach to healthcare modernization. In the Voronezh region the model of urologic healthcare system in accordance with the principles of prevention and early active detection of diseases, standardization, organization of quality control of medical care, optimization of financial expenditures of the state on health care was perfected. The economic part of the prostate cancer screening program was evaluated: the main problems of screening were analyzed, its economic component and the cost of treatment of prostate cancer patients detected as a result of screening were evaluated, measures to improve its efficiency were proposed. The developed “Urology” program is being implemented in other regions of the Russian Federation.

In educational activity, Oleg Apolikhin promotes the integration of the educational process. The Institute of Urology regularly organizes international scientific and practical conferences and schools where leading world experts participate. A system of international councils with the use of the latest television broadcasting equipment has been created and is working productively. All scientific events held by the Institute are broadcast via telemedicine channels to attract a wide audience of urologists.

Oleg Apolikhin has a wide knowledge of clinical and theoretical medicine issues. In the hospital of the Institute under his supervision, adults and children with various urologic diseases are treated, complex reconstructive-plastic, advanced urologic cancer, laparoscopic and endoscopic, microsurgical, minimally invasive and vascular interventions, and kidney transplantation are performed. At the same time, in recent years, the number of operated patients has significantly increased, the number of complications has decreased, and the number of bed days has significantly decreased.

After Apolikhin’s appointment in 2014 as the chief specialist in reproductive health of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, he, on behalf of Minister Veronika Skvortsova, did a lot of organizational work: he developed a draft Concept of reproductive health protection, which aims to improve the reproductive potential of the family and reduce reproductive losses of the population; organized several international forums dedicated to reproductive health; schools for andrology urologists are held in the regions of the Russian Federation; andrology schools are organized in the regions of the Russian Federation. This program is based on modern distance learning technologies that give specialists the opportunity to obtain basic knowledge in the field of andrology without leaving their workplace at minimal training costs.

Professor Apolikhin pays great attention to international cooperation in healthcare. With his active participation, a Memorandum on Cooperation in the Field of Male Healthсare was signed in Havana. As part of the agreement on scientific cooperation, a clinical and economic study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of symptoms of lower urinary tract diseases (benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, neurogenic urinary disorder) in the Russian population (residents of the middle part of Russia) and in the Cuban population. In Cuba, with the participation of Russian specialists, the Hombre Salud program for the protection of men’s health has been developed and implemented. The implementation of this memorandum will make it possible to propose measures to protect men’s health from the standpoint of preventive medicine.

Also, together with the Erasmus Medical Center of Rotterdam (the Netherlands), the first Russian population study on early detection of prostate cancer was conducted. 10,470 men participated in the study. Statistical processing of the population study data made it possible to determine the average values of some indicators important for the diagnosis of urologic diseases (prostate-specific antigen level, total evaluation of symptoms in prostate diseases, frequency of detection of lower urinary tract symptoms, prostate cancer, etc.) in residents of the European region of the Russian Federation. For the first time in Russia, data were obtained on the values of prostate-specific antigen, severity of lower urinary tract symptoms and other indicators in different age categories in the Russian population.

Oleg Apolikhin has published more than 500 printed works, including monographs, has 6 patents for invention, participated in the publication of the National Guide to Urology and the textbook “Urology” for universities. He conducts a great scientific and educational activity, he is the Chairman of the Academic Council of N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology, a member of the dissertation council D 208.047.02 of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

The main directions of his scientific research:

• organization of urological care for the population of the Russian Federation
• healthcare economics
• early diagnosis of prostate diseases
• minimally invasive methods of diagnostics and treatment of urologic diseases
• development of standards of urological care
• multidisciplinary approach to the study of sexual and erectile dysfunction