CANADIAN DOCTORS AND NURSES RETURN FROM SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL MISSION IN UKRAINE
Canadian funded medical team completes 37 complex surgeries
(Toronto) - A specialized team of Canadian health professionals returned home after completing a medical mission in Ukraine. The team worked alongside Ukrainian doctors and nurses in performing reconstructive complex surgical procedures on victims of the Euromaidan movement and Vladimir Putin’s invasion into Eastern Ukraine.
The mission was organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation and Operation Rainbow Canada, under the patronage of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. The medical team of 25 professionals was comprised entirely of volunteers and included surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses. The team was assembled from across Canada including Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. Over 60 patients from across Ukraine with complex post-traumatic defects and deformities were seen in consultation. A total of 37 reconstructive procedures were performed in 30 patients. These included:
• 7 skull reconstructions
• 10 bony reconstructions of the facial skeleton
• 9 soft tissue reconstructions of the eyelids, nose, lips
• 5 burn and scar revisions
• 6 upper extremity reconstructions
“This mission focused on post-traumatic defects and deformities, many of which were horrific. Most
resulted from explosive blast wounds and high-velocity missile wounds. The patients presented major reconstructive challenges,” said Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn, Head of the Adult Craniofacial Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Toronto. “The surgical procedures were complex, technically demanding, and time-consuming, some lasting for as many as 7 hrs We hope to return in the near future and continue to work with our Ukrainian counterparts to provide the best possible care to those injured in the current crisis”.
Funding for the mission came from “United for Ukraine”, a gala fundraiser organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation held in September in Toronto. Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the Guest of Honour.
