Themes by tag: doctors

With the onset of the full-blown war, Ihor Kazio, a dentist with 15 years of experience, decided to stay in the capital and help the citizens. Ihor, his father, and brother, who belong to the same profession, provided free-of-charge services when the Russian military convoy closed in on the capital and most medical facilities in Kyiv were closed.

After the invaders were driven out of the Kyiv region, Ihor started looking for ways to help the military who could not leave the front line to see a dentist. This is how the Kazo Mobile Dental project—mobile dentistry in a mobile setting that helps soldiers near the front line, was born. A team of doctors ready to work in the frontline regions was assembled quite quickly: specialists from different cities responded to the call. Each of their trips lasts at least two weeks. Kazo Mobile Dental has already made three visits to the frontline regions and performed dental treatment for more than a thousand soldiers. Now the team is preparing for their next trip, which will take place on February 8.

For reference: Kazo Mobile Dental is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• doctors
• military
• volunteers

29-year-old Yevhen Koptiaiev volunteered for mobilization in the Defense Forces since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The soldier fought in the Donetsk sector, where he got seriously injured during an assault. Yevhen was shot through his helmet by an enemy bullet causing an entry wound in his ear and exit in his eye. The bullet also hit the front bones shattering his skull and tearing out his under-eye muscles. With those injuries, Yevhen crawled more than two kilometers to reach Ukrainian counterparts’ positions. The military veteran says he realized how badly he was injured being already halfway to his comrades: trying to touch his nose, his three fingers passed right through the mutilated bones of his skull and jaw.

Yevhen was first treated in Vinnytsia, having reconstructive surgery to his skull: five titanium implants were used for his face reconstruction. After the treatment, Yevhen had to get another one, because one of the plates didn’t adapt to the body defect ultimately leading to the body rejecting the implant and provoking inflammation. So a team of foreign doctors from Face the future Ukraine took over Yevhen’s treatment. The surgeons removed the failed implant, restored the lacrimal glands, and transplanted the man’s skin under the eye. Three months have passed since Yevhen’s last surgery. The wounds on his face have almost healed. Now the veteran has returned to Kryvyi Rih, where his wife and two children live.

For reference: “Face the future Ukraine” is a mission of reconstructive surgeons from Canada and the US, a joint effort of world experts and their Ukrainian colleagues, to restore physical health and aesthetic beauty to those who were disfigured by enemy fire. They also work with soldiers who have suffered injuries to their face and neck at the front line.

• casualties
• doctors
• military

Oleksii Prytula is a veterinarian from Odesa. During the full-scale invasion, he decided to join the defense of the country. In September 2022, he was seriously injured and lost both legs. Despite this adversity, he returned to work.

The man received prostheses and underwent rehabilitation at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. The veteran’s employer arranged a special workplace for him. So Oleksii can resume his work treating his four-legged patients.

• animals
• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Odesa

On January 26, a three-day basic tactical medicine course (ASM NAEMT), designed for military personnel and those who are preparing themselves for combat starts in Kyiv. Among other things, the course participants will learn how to assess the tactical situation, safely move the injured victims, recognize and stop severe bleeding, and provide assistance in case of head injuries, burns, fractures, etc.

The volunteers from the Hospitallers medical battalion regularly hold training sessions. All proceeds paid by the course participants directed to support the battalion’s work.

Journalists have the opportunity to cover the training sessions.

For reference: The Hospitallers medical battalion has been working at the front since 2014. Its crews carry out dozens of evacuations day by day along almost the entire front line. It has also been teaching tactical medicine since 2015 and first aid basics since 2018. The instructors are certified by NAEMT (American National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians), UVMA (Ukrainian Military Medical Academy), and other organizations.

• doctors
• Kyiv

KoLeSo (Wheel) is a network of educational and training centers for tactical medicine (Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia). The network’s founder, Olha Omelchuk, has been a medical instructor in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2014.

Since March 2022, about 38,000 people, both military and civilians, have received free pre-medical care training at the centers. The courses are based on the tactical protocol — Tactical Combat Casualty Care.

The training (tactical first aid in combat) spans a 6-hour course, which includes both theoretical and practical components. After that, participants have the opportunity to engage in online workshops facilitated by the instructors, which will help revise the material. Additionally, participants can opt to participate in “Module 2” and successfully pass the exam and obtain a certificate.

Journalists can cover the training and talk to the students. If they wish, journalists can also undergo training.

• doctors
• Kyiv

Sviatoslav Nikolaichuk became the founder of “Genesis & System Solutions” center for the rehabilitation of veterans in Vinnytsia. In 2015, the man voluntarily joined the Defense Forces and served as a signalman in the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. Sviatoslav served for one and a half years, participated in the battles near Popasna, Luhansk region (now the city has been completely destroyed by the russians and is under occupation). He was discharged after the birth of his third child.

With the beginning of the big war, the veteran volunteered, and later began to create a rehabilitation center to help soldiers, who have lost their limbs, manage phantom pains.

One of the servicemen who have already walked this path is the veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykyta Makazan, who had lost his leg near Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Virtual reality helped the man to get rid of phantom pain – the same technology will be used in “Genesis & System Solutions.” The assistance to veterans will be provided using modern equipment. For this purpose, they purchased virtual reality glasses, two laptops, suspension systems and special exercise bikes for the rehabilitation of the upper and lower limbs. The center received financial support worth UAH 2.5 million from the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation. In addition to virtual reality, the center will also feature traditional rehabilitation. Currently, the facility is already accepting veterans, and will officially open on January 29. 

• casualties
• doctors
• Vinnytsia

Yulia Torbenko is a rescue paramedic with a special-purpose emergency rescue unit in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast (part of the State Emergency Service). She has been doing this for about 14 years. Earlier, in civilian life, Yulia was a paramedic in the EMC team. 

With the all-out invasion outbreak, she and her colleagues stayed at work. There were many casualties due to enemy missile attacks and air strikes, as the war grinds on. 

Yulia provided first aid to everyone who needed it: under fire, clearing rubble, and responding to road accidents. She also accompanied demining teams while clearing mines in the de-occupied Kyiv region.

Despite all the risks, Yulia also continues to save people who have suffered from enemy attacks.

• casualties
• doctors
• Kyiv

Before the full-blown invasion outbreak, Andrii Kopytsia was in no way connected with medicine aside from having first aid care certification. The man ran a cafe he started in Zatoka, Odesa Oblast, and never thought first aid course knowledge would ever come in handy. However, on February 26, 2022, Andrii mobilized and went off to war. The soldier joined a unit that needed an army medic.

Later, the soldier was given the “Lifesaving Award” from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After he became a third-time father, Andrii resigned from the service. Andrii’s cafe in Zatoka had to be closed as a result of a Russian munition landing near it. So the man decided to open a new place, this time in Odesa. Andrii put up the money he had earned while he was at war. Later, he applied for a state microgrant program for combatants and won it, but has not yet used the state funds. His “Unbreakable Coffee Shop” has already opened its doors to visitors, and anyone can buy a drink for the military so that they can also support those who are defending the country at the front.

• doctors
• food
• military
• Odesa

Yuliana is a resident of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. On the day when she decided to leave the city with her family, the enemy began to attack her residential area.

The woman managed to cover her head with her hands during a powerful explosion. Having regained consciousness, she realized that she was under rubble. Yuliana remembers that when she was getting helped with getting out, she noticed that the fingers on her hand had been ripped apart. It felt as if the limb had been completely torn off.

The wound did not heal well, part of the muscles had to be cut out. The doctors did not know what to do with the hand next. Due to the improper growth of bones and muscles, no one wanted to undertake treatment. However, Yuliana later found out about the national program “Save the Limb,” the specialists of which are currently fighting to save her hand.

For reference: The “Save the Limb” national program was launched last year upon the initiative of the International Charitable Foundation “Health of the Ukrainian People.” Its mission is to prevent Ukrainians from becoming disabled via 15,000 surgeries to save the limbs of both the military and the civilians.

Battles for Bakhmut began in August 2022, although the russians had been shelling the city since the spring. By May 2023, russian troops occupied most of Bakhmut. Due to constant russian shelling, the city was razed to the ground. Yuliana’s apartment was also destroyed.

• casualties
• doctors
• women

On October 10, 2022, fragments of a russian rocket hit the body of the waiter Valerii when he was on his way to work in Kyiv. The victim remembers how people were running and shouting nearby, pieces of iron were flying, cars were honking.

Medics removed fragments of the rocket from Valerii’s eye and leg. As a result, parts of his two ulna bones were torn out. At first, the doctors talked about amputating the limb, but still managed to save it. The leading expert of the national project “Save the Limb” took on the task of saving the crippled hand. So far, Valerii has undergone several surgeries and joint replacement.

For reference: The national project “Save the Limb” initiated by the International Charitable Foundation “Health of the Ukrainian People” started at the end of last year. Its mission is to stop the Ukrainian people from becoming disabled by holding 15,000 surgeries to save the limbs of both military and civilians.

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes