The practice of vascular surgery in Hungary was initiated in 1952 and its progress can be seen as beginning with a "trial" stage from 1952 to 1960. During the period from 1960 to 1980, the first of the operations known today were performed, and since 1991, vascular surgery has become routinely practiced, with the number of vascular reconstructions each year exceeding 6,000. From a population of 10 million inhabitants in Hungary, a total of 6,892 arterial reconstructions were carried out during 1990 by 150 vascular surgeons, with a total of 400 allocated beds.