NUF Congress 2013 - Scandinavian Association of Urology

Professor Mirja Ruutu passed away in January 2013 – a great loss for Finnish and Scandinavian Urology.
Her training took place in Helsinki where she became a specialist in both General Surgery and Urology.
Mirja’s research interests were many and included urodynamics, biocompatibility and toxicity
of uretral catheters, urethral strictures, prostate and renal caner and interstitial cystitis. Her doctoral thesis
(1985) dealt with urinary tract problems after Spinal Cord Injury.
She became consultant urologist at Helsinki University Central Hospital 1981, Docent in 1988. Finally she
became Professor of Urology and Chairman of the Department from 2002 to 2008, when she retired. Mirja
Ruutu was an inspiration for many junior, coming urologists and supervised their work with dissertations.
She was the most popular opponent at doctoral thesis in Finland for a decade.
Mirja was a very kind, glad and extrovert colleague – well known and appreciated in both Scandinavian
and European Urology. She served as both treasurer and General Secretary of the Scandinavian Association
of Urology (NUF) and was Finland Nordic Editor for NUF-Bulletinen for ten years. She was also elected
Finnish member of the first Scandinavuan Collaborative Working Group on urodynamis.
Furthermore she was active within the European Board of Urology and held honorary memberships
in both NUF and several international associations. Mirja’s main hobbies were horses and dogs. She was a
very skilled haute école rider and even imported a horse from Denmark. Mirja was always in a good mood
which was contagious to her surroundings.
She was also the primus motor of an annual Urology Meeting in Helsinki where invited, famous european
urologists lectured and participated in the scientific meeting and a following gala dinner after which a
series of strange tests might earn them the club prize, a numbered lobster fork and a life-long membership
of ”the dirty lobster club”.
Mirja will be missed among her colleagues and many friends in Scandinavian Urology. We convey our
warmest thoughts to her husband Tapani and their two sons Olli and Antti.
Honored be the memory of Mirja Ruutu.
30 NUF-Bulletinen 1 • 2013
IN memoRIAm
Mirja Ruutu
1943–2012
JENS THORUP ANDERSEN
Retired NUF President
STEEN WALTER
Retired NUF General Secretary