Mr. Zdenko Zloh (1958–2026) recently passed away. I first got to know him better in 2017, when we were organizing the 8th Congress of the Serbian Society of Cardiovascular Surgeons. He was supposed to create the graphic solution for the congress logo.
After our first meeting and my explanation, he invited me to meet again at his home. I wondered what was preventing him from simply sending it to me by email. However, when I went to see him, he turned on a larger screen in his living room and presented four—perhaps even five, I don’t quite remember—proposals. He said something about each one, explaining the background, the message, and the target audience. For one solution he said it was particularly dear to him, that it had “grown close to his heart,” although I had the impression he looked at all of them like his children. That was Zdenko.
For the same congress, he modernized our logo and then went on to create graphic solutions for the ninth and tenth congresses, numerous workshops, the first Belvis, the Winter School, the Vascular Symposium, and more.
Most of the graphic work of the Serbian Society of Cardiovascular Surgeons over the past ten years was the work of his mind and hands. He also collaborated with the Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of the Clinical Center of Serbia.
Zdenko designed all of our annual reports, numerous books by Professor Davidović, certificates, and much more. A karate practitioner in his youth and later an agricultural engineer, he patented a special irrigation method and worked to bring it to life until his very last day. In January, he hurried to complete our two-year report and a book. He finished them but did not live to receive his honorary copy.
He left suddenly, too early, and quietly—just as he lived and worked. It was an honor and a pleasure to know him and to work with him.
On behalf of the Executive Board of the Serbian Society of Cardiovascular Surgeons
Prof. Dr. Igor Končar