Despite constant rocket attacks and the destruction of medical facilities, Ukrainian medical professionals are continuously making great efforts to save the lives and health of the wounded.
“The injuries that occur in this war have no analogues in the past,” says Vasyl Haiovych, MD, traumatologist and orthopedist at the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
Limb injuries have become the most common injury in the war.
However, doctors are fighting with resilience and perseverance to save arms and legs, and thanks to their knowledge and skills, they manage to return soldiers to the ranks, even after extremely serious injuries.
The International Charitable Foundation “Health of the Ukrainian People” has created the national program #ВрятуйКінцівку, which brings together the best doctors from different parts of Ukraine to help seriously wounded. The main goal is to save limbs and their functions to prevent disability.
The program is aimed at helping mainly military personnel, but the foundation also provides assistance to civilians, who make up about 10% of the total number of patients.
“The hardest thing is when you examine a new patient, a young guy with an amputation, and realize that that limb could have actually been saved,” says Vasyl Gaiovych, commenting on the responsibility that lies on the shoulders of doctors. His wisdom and professionalism become an integral part of the success of the #SaveAlimb program.
In Kyiv, orthopedic traumatologists and medical professionals show true strength of spirit, spending hours in operating rooms saving limbs.
So far, 535 patients have been treated under the national #ВрятуйКінцівку program.
This became possible thanks to the cooperation with the 8th City Clinical Hospital and the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv.
“Ukraine’s orthopedic traumatologists are undoubtedly the best in the world. Their skills and medical talent amaze the world. They save arms and legs where European doctors see amputation as the only way out. Two-thirds of wounded soldiers return to service thanks to their efforts. Mykola L. Ankin, Vasyl V. Gayovych, Oleksandr S. Stafun, Andriy S. Lysak and many others – their names are a source of pride for the state, and their abilities and courage deserve boundless gratitude and respect. We thank all Ukrainian doctors for your work. We are grateful to the concerned Ukrainians – it is your donations that help doctors save limbs,” emphasizes Sergiy Soshynsky, founder of the Health of the Ukrainian People Foundation.
Only from April to December 2022, the program saved 1500 limbs by providing external fixation devices to frontline hospitals in Ukraine – another evidence of the importance of the doctors’ work.
You can support the program here:
Photo: libkos
