Three European microsurgeons perform 15 operations in Ukraine in one month
Latvian microsurgeon Olafs Libermanis, who has returned to Riga and is already preparing for his next trip, said this in a comment to Ukrinform.
“Together with Martins Malzubris, we worked at the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Lviv, as well as in hospitals in Odesa, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr. On August 6-16, famous Italian surgeon Marco Innocenti joined us. We consulted more than 50 patients and performed 15 difficult surgeries. More than 40 Ukrainian surgeons took part in our master classes and joint training,” he said.
According to Libermanis, the doctors are now in online contact with many of their patients.
The Latvian doctor spoke positively about his Ukrainian colleagues: “I especially want to highlight the team we worked with in Zhytomyr. You know, there is probably the best atmosphere in the operating room and the best understanding I have seen in my professional life. We left them a good microscope and are still considering how to financially support this team.”
At the same time, Libermanis outlined the challenges that foreign surgeons face during such trips to Ukraine. According to him, “it is very important to consider differences in medical cultures and work style to ensure a smooth operation.”
He separately noted another problem: “In any surgery, complications (and sometimes even failures) are inevitable in some cases. The question is who will deal with such complications in the future? Will a visiting doctor take such a patient to his country? We also had such a case with a person who had complications, a ‘failure’, so to speak. We will definitely invite him to Riga. And we will involve Innocenti in the second operation.”
The next trip of this group to Ukraine is scheduled for September-October, to the same cities, and possibly to Ivano-Frankivsk. At the same time, Libermanis and his colleagues are confident that the methodology developed for the accelerated training of microsurgeons in Ukraine will help reduce the shortage of specialists in the use of plastic, reconstructive and microsurgery methods in the treatment of severe combat injuries to the extremities.
The program to treat the wounded and involve microsurgeons for the needs of the Ukrainian army and civilians is funded by the Latvian Foreign Ministry and entrepreneurs.
Libermanis also noted that since August 26, another group of Ukrainian doctors has been in Riga to take a course in microsurgery. Since the allocation of a grant from the Latvian Foreign Ministry in the autumn of last year, 14 doctors have enhanced their professional competencies. Of these, nine have successfully integrated the acquired skills into their clinical practice.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Latvian microsurgeons Martins Malzubris and Olafs Libermanis have been working in Ukraine for about 14 months since March 5, 2022, operating at various hospitals. They were awarded Latvia's highest honor - the Order of the Three Stars - for their work.
In 2023, they launched the program for the advanced training of Ukrainian microsurgeons in Riga, with funding provided by the Latvian Foreign Ministry.
Photo: Olafs Libermanis
