![]() Strilka knew Ukraine had to open its own lung transplant center. Strilka adds that India and Belarus, where Ukrainians previously traveled for transplants, both recently passed laws restricting foreigners' ability to receive the procedure there. (Many doctors in Ukraine have worked without pay for months.) The cash-strapped government can no longer foot the $150,000 bill for each patient sent abroad. Patients in need of that operation are unable to receive it now, according to Vasyl Strilka, who leads the development of an organ transplant system for Ukraine's Ministry of Health. "Once you finish one lung, you have to do it again," he said. He says the challenge arises from the organs' complex vascular structure and a high risk of immune system rejection after the procedure. "Lungs are one of the hardest transplants," said Melnitchouk, who has completed dozens of successful lung transplants. Melnitchouk learned that Ukraine had only recently opened transplant centers for organs like kidneys and livers, but the country still lacked capacity to transplant lungs, partly due to technical challenges. ![]() "I was like, 'Why are you asking about transplants? You are in a time of war.' " "In all three hospitals they were asking about transplants," said Melnitchouk. They kept inquiring about a procedure seemingly unrelated to the pressing wartime concerns. Opportunity arose when he spoke with doctors at the hospitals he was visiting. "That's your country where you grew up, and you can't recognize it. Outside the hospitals, roadsides were littered with burnt-out tanks and tree trunks whose canopies had been blown off by missiles. He taught trauma care to doctors at three local hospitals where beds were filling up with the wounded. In April, during the chaotic early days of Russia's invasion, Melnitchouk traveled back to Ukraine to lend his expertise to the war effort. His parents still live in the agricultural town where he grew up. Melnitchouk has spent his decade-long career as a cardiothoracic surgeon at MGH in Boston. It will allow the Ukrainian doctors to open their own lung transplant center - giving patients hope for a better future, even amid the shadows of war. The crash course at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) aims to change that. So some Ukrainian patients are left without the chance for a life-saving transplant. But that funding has been drained by Ukraine's war effort, and other countries have restricted foreigners' access to transplant services. Previously, patients who needed a new set of lungs would travel abroad for the procedure, funded by the country's universal healthcare system. ![]() Ukraine has long lacked a full-service organ transplant center. They've traveled to Boston for a crash course in some of the most complex procedures in medicine: heart and lung transplants. He explains his technique to two observing doctors, both thoracic surgeons visiting from Feofaniya Clinical Hospital in Kyiv. Serguei Melnitchouk, is repairing a patient's leaky heart valve. It's mixed with quiet chatter in Ukrainian. clamp." But today, that rhythm sounds different. BOSTON - There's a rhythm to most surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston: the beep of a heart monitor, the surgeon's calls for "scalpel.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |