Profile
Assoc. Prof. Florin Elec is a senior consultant urologist at the Clinical Institute of Urology and Renal Transplantation (ICUTR) in Cluj-Napoca, where he heads the Urology II / Kidney Transplant department, and Associate Professor at the „Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca. His research has been published in specialist journals.
He also treats patients at MedLife Humanitas Hospital in Cluj-Napoca.
His surgical experience comes from more than 20 years of intensive clinical work in urology, with over 2,000 operations in the last 5 years, focused on minimally invasive uro-oncological surgery and kidney transplantation.
Since his training he has worked extensively in laparoscopic urology, which has gradually given way to robotic surgery with the Da Vinci system. Robot-assisted procedures, for example for prostate cancer, offer a magnified operative field, better instrument handling and minimal invasiveness. The choice between open, laparoscopic or robotic surgery must be tailored to each patient on medical grounds.
Another area of his expertise is endoscopic urology – for benign prostate enlargement, bladder tumours and kidney or ureteral stones – which has developed rapidly with flexible and digital instruments and laser technology: Rezum water vapour therapy and HoLEP (holmium laser enucleation of the prostate) for benign prostate enlargement, and flexible ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for kidney stones.
He has contributed significantly to the kidney and pancreas transplant programme at ICUTR, a centre with more than 2,500 kidney transplants and an average of 100 a year.
He has taken part in organ retrieval, first as assistant and later as coordinator of the retrieval team (more than 100 retrievals), introduced in-situ kidney separation during retrieval, and consolidated the laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy programme with transperitoneal 3D laparoscopy.
He has introduced renal autotransplantation with laparoscopic kidney retrieval – for untreatable ureteral injuries, vascular malformations and tumours in a solitary kidney. In one such operation the kidney was retrieved by 3D laparoscopy, perfused with preservation solution and cooled, the tumour was removed by partial nephrectomy, the kidney was reconstructed ex vivo and autotransplanted into the iliac fossa, in a patient with a complex tumour in a solitary kidney. Both autotransplantation with laparoscopic retrieval and ex-vivo oncological surgery with autotransplantation were performed for the first time in Romania.
As lead surgeon he has performed more than 400 kidney transplants over the last 16 years, from brain-dead and living donors, including more than 30 paediatric transplants in patients aged 2.5 to 18.
Institutions
- „Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca
- Clinical Institute of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Cluj-Napoca
- MedLife Humanitas Hospital, Cluj-Napoca
Professional societies
- European Association of Urology (EAU)
- American Urological Association (AUA)
- European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT)
- The Transplantation Society (TTS)
- Romanian Association of Urology
- Romtransplant Association (President-elect 2026–2028)
The full list of memberships is on the Romanian page.
Career
- 2006Specialist urologist
- 2007Academic appointment, „Iuliu Hațieganu” University
- 2011Senior consultant urologist
- 2011PhD in medical sciences – minimally invasive treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: transurethral microwave thermotherapy
- 2018Head of the Urology II / Kidney Transplant department, ICUTR
- 2023Associate Professor
- 2024Accredited PhD supervisor
Research
He has published 2 specialist books, 12 book chapters and numerous articles in high-impact scientific journals. Web of Science ResearcherID: C-8736-2014.
Current research indicators and recent publications are on the Press & research page.
Postgraduate training
- Masterclass on Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer EAU, Amsterdam
- Masterclass on Kidney Transplant, EAU Section of Transplantation Urology (ESTU) - Madrid, Spain
- Radiation protection in medicine – CNCAN course
- Preparatory Course for the European Diploma in Transplant Surgery, Lisbon, Portugal
- ESU-ESUT Masterclass on Operative management of Benign Prostatic Obstruction, Heilbronn, Germany
- General Ultrasound Module II- University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hațieganu”, Cluj-Napoca
- General Ultrasound Module I- University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hațieganu”, Cluj-Napoca
- Clinical Kidney Transplantation – Leiden University Medical Center
- ESU-Weill Cornell Masterclass in General Urology, Salzburg, Austria
- 2nd International Workshop in Robotic Surgery for Southeastern Europe – and off – site training as a console surgeon, Athens, Greece
- “Laparoscopic Urology Masterclass” – Covidien European Training Center, Elancourt, France
- “Brachytherapy Course”, Ambulantes Operationszentrum im Ullsteinhaus, Berlin
- “Renal and prostatic biopsies” University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj Napoca
- “Laparoscopic adrenalectomy” - University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj Napoca
- “Urology masterclass” – TYCO Healthcare Education Center, Elancourt, France
- Cryotherapy Workshop - Klinik fur Urologie und Kinderurologie Krankenhaus Nordwest Frankfurt, Germany
- “Retroperitoneoscopic Laparoscopy” - University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Department of Urology, Cluj-Napoca
- “Urologic laparoscopy course” – University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Department of Urology, Cluj-Napoca
- “Training in laparoscopic surgery of the urogenital tract – Radical prostatectomy” – Prof. U. Stolzenburg, Leipzig University, Germany
Skills and certifications
- FEBS – European Diploma in Transplantation Surgery (multi-organ retrieval, kidney transplantation), European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) – Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (Division of Transplantation), Rome, Italy
- Certificate in abdominal ultrasonography – Romanian Ministry of Health
- Health services management – Romanian Ministry of Health
- Robotic urological surgery – Da Vinci certification