{"id":175988,"date":"2025-11-13T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/v-chjom-raznica-mezhdu-beloj-i-krasnoj-hirurgiej\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T15:20:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:20:54","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-white-and-red-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/v-chjom-raznica-mezhdu-beloj-i-krasnoj-hirurgiej\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the difference between white and red surgery?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00ab&quot;White Surgery&quot; and &quot;Red Surgery&quot; are not two different fields of medicine, but rather the common names of two historic surgical clinics in Krakow: &quot;Red Surgery&quot; takes its name from the red brick fa\u00e7ade of the building at 21 Kopernika Street, while &quot;White Surgery&quot; takes its name from the white-stuccoed Jagiellonian University Clinic located opposite.<\/strong> There are many explanations circulating on the internet claiming that one operation is &quot;bloodless&quot; and the other is &quot;bloody,&quot; but these explanations have no basis in official medical terminology.<\/p>\n<p> To sum it up<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <strong>The names come from the color of the buildings.<\/strong> Krakow surgical clinics, and not on the amount of blood or the type of surgery.<\/li>\n<li> <strong>\u00abRed Surgery\u00bb<\/strong> \u2014 the red brick pavilion at 21 Kopernika Street opened on October 7, 1893 as the surgical department of St. Lazarus Hospital.<\/li>\n<li> <strong>\u00abWhite Surgery\u00bb<\/strong> \u2014 Opposite is the white-plastered surgical clinic of the Jagiellonian University.<\/li>\n<li> The names do not determine the type of surgery \u2013 the common division into \u00abbloodless\u00bb and \u00abbloodletting\u00bb surgery has no medical basis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2> Where did the names &quot;white surgery&quot; and &quot;red surgery&quot; come from?<\/h2>\n<p> The origin of these names comes from the history of Krakow medicine. In his article &quot;Red Surgery 110 Years Old,&quot; Professor Andrzej Wysocki of the 2nd Department of General Surgery at the Medical College of the Jagiellonian University describes the ceremonial opening of the new surgical pavilion at St. Lazarus Hospital at <strong>Copernicus Street, 21<\/strong> <strong>, October 7, 1893.<\/strong> The building was designed by Krakow architect Karol Zaremba under the supervision of Professor Alfred Obalinski.<\/p>\n<p> The walls of the pavilion were built from <strong>red brick, with yellow patches in places<\/strong> . As the author notes, the red color of the fa\u00e7ade led to the name &quot;Red Surgery&quot; being used to this day. <strong>\u2014 to distinguish it from the Jagiellonian University Surgical Clinic located opposite, covered with white plaster and known as the \u00abWhite Surgery\u00bb.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> Since 1920, the &quot;Red Surgery&quot; housed the Second Surgical Department of the Jagiellonian University, and later the Second Surgical Department. The &quot;White Surgery&quot; is associated with the First Surgical Department of the Jagiellonian University. Both names have survived in the language of Krak\u00f3w doctors, students, and patients as abbreviations: &quot;I lay on Red Street&quot; and &quot;I was operated on on Bia\u0142a Street.&quot;.<\/p>\n<p> The Red Surgery Pavilion was very modern for its time: it had central heating, warm-air ventilation, gas lighting, two operating rooms connected by a sterilization room, and 120 beds. Previously, the surgical department of St. Lazarus Hospital was located in a former monastery at 19 Kopernika Street.<\/p>\n<h2> Myth: White surgery is &quot;bloodless&quot; and red surgery is &quot;bloody.&quot;.<\/h2>\n<p> A search for &quot;what is the difference between white and red surgery&quot; easily leads to texts in which white surgery is defined as elective and laparoscopic procedures with minor bleeding, and red surgery as life-saving operations on the heart and blood vessels with significant blood loss. Such explanations <strong>do not have any medical terminology behind them<\/strong> \u2014 in Polish medicine there are no specializations or official departments with such names.<\/p>\n<p> This is best demonstrated by the Red Surgery Department itself. According to the department&#039;s website, it currently functions as a clinical department for general, oncological, metabolic, and emergency surgery, and its specialization includes <strong>minimally invasive, laparoscopic and bariatric surgery<\/strong> . This is precisely what popular &quot;definitions&quot; attribute to the &quot;white surgical department.&quot; Thus, the color in the name says nothing about the type of surgery performed.<\/p>\n<h2> Table: White and red surgery \u2013 facts and myths<\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th> Problem<\/th>\n<th> \u00abWhite Surgery\u00bb<\/th>\n<th> \u00abRed Surgery\u00bb<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<\/tbody>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>What&#039;s happened<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> The common name of the surgical clinic of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.<\/td>\n<td> The common name of the pavilion located at 21 Kopernika Street in Krakow.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>Origin of the name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> White plaster facade<\/td>\n<td> Red brick facade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>Start<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> Surgical Clinic of the Jagiellonian University<\/td>\n<td> The St. Lazarus Hospital Pavilion opened on October 7, 1893, and since 1920 it has housed the 2nd Surgical Clinic of the Jagiellonian University.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>Relations with departments of the Jagiellonian University<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> 1st Department of Surgery, Jagiellonian University<\/td>\n<td> II Department of Surgery, Jagiellonian University<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>Is this an official medical term?<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> NO<\/td>\n<td> NO<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td> <strong>Popular myth<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> \u00ab&quot;Elective, laparoscopic, bloodless surgical interventions&quot;\u00bb<\/td>\n<td> \u00ab&quot;Emergency heart and vascular surgery, lots of blood&quot;\u00bb<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2> What specific surgical units are used?<\/h2>\n<p> To describe the type of surgery in understandable language, use the terms doctors use:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <strong>Depending on the procedure<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>planned<\/strong> procedure (planned in advance) or <strong>urgent\/emergency procedure<\/strong> (for indications that save life or health).<\/li>\n<li> <strong>Depending on the methodology<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>open<\/strong> surgery (classical incision) or <strong>minimally invasive<\/strong> (eg laparoscopic, endoscopic, robotic).<\/li>\n<li> <strong>by organ or region<\/strong> \u2013 for example, general surgery, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, oncological surgery, traumatological and orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> The risk of bleeding depends not on the type of surgery, but on the specific procedure, the patient&#039;s condition, medications taken, and many other factors. This risk is assessed by the attending physician and anesthesiologist prior to surgery.<\/p>\n<h2> Referral for surgery as &quot;white&quot; or &quot;red&quot; surgery \u2013 what does this mean?<\/h2>\n<p> If you hear these names in Krakow - in conversation with a doctor, on a referral, or from friends - they refer to <strong>a specific place or team<\/strong> , not the type of procedure. To avoid confusion between the address and the department:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Check the direction to find out <strong>full official name of the branch<\/strong> and address.<\/li>\n<li> Compare this information with the current data on the website of the University Hospital in Krakow or at the reception desk \u2013 the location of the clinics may have changed.<\/li>\n<li> Questions regarding the procedure, anesthesia, and risks should be directed to your doctor, not based on the clinic name.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2> Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)<\/h2>\n<p> <strong>Are white and red surgery official specialties?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> No. There are no such specializations or fields of medicine in Poland. These are the common names of two surgical clinics in Krakow, derived from the color of their buildings.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Why is the clinic called &quot;Red Surgery&quot;?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> The pavilion at 21 Kopernika Street, opened in 1893 as the surgical department of St. Lazarus Hospital, was built of red brick. Its name distinguished it from the white-stuccoed surgical clinic of the Jagiellonian University located across the street.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Is White&#039;s procedure a laparoscopic surgery?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> No. This is a common myth. Laparoscopic procedures are performed at many centers, including the Red Surgery Clinic itself, which specializes in minimally invasive procedures.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Does &quot;red surgery&quot; mean a surgery with severe bleeding?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> No. The name comes from the color of the brick, not from blood. The risk of bleeding depends on the type of procedure and the patient&#039;s condition, and is assessed by the doctor before surgery.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>What is the correct name for this type of operation?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> Doctors discuss elective or emergency surgeries, open or minimally invasive (such as laparoscopic), and areas such as general surgery, cardiac surgery, or vascular surgery.<\/p>\n<h2> See also<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li> What is the difference between a procedure and an operation?<\/li>\n<li> What is the difference between castration and sterilization?<\/li>\n<li> What is the difference between a yellow and a white ambulance?<\/li>\n<li> What is the difference between hysteroscopy and curettage?<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00ab&quot;White surgery&quot; and &quot;red surgery&quot; are not two different fields of medicine, but rather the generally accepted names of two historical surgical clinics in<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":175989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,20],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-175988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vopros-otvet","category-fakty","tag-chem-otlichaetsya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175990,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175988\/revisions\/175990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bukvaved.top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}