Conference on the development of international medical partnership and innovations in medical education held in Lviv

The conference “Synergy for Health: Uniting Efforts for Global Change” was held in Lviv. The conference is dedicated to the development of international medical partnerships between Ukrainian and foreign medical institutions, as well as innovations in medical education. One of the central topics of the event was the deepening of international cooperation between medical institutions and the implementation of joint effective projects.

The event was joined by First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska (online), Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, Chairman of the Committee on National Health, Medical Care and Medical Insurance of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mykhailo Radutskyi, representatives of leading Ukrainian and international healthcare institutions and universities, etc.

Last year, an international medical partnership initiative was launched in Kyiv under the patronage of the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen with the support of First Lady Olena Zelenska. At that time, 25 Ukrainian hospitals were twinned with hospitals in different countries to share experience and best practices. During the year of work, 21 countries - 36 Ukrainian and 43 foreign medical institutions have been united. To date, 57 memorandums of cooperation have been signed as part of the international medical partnership initiative.

To date, 43 advanced hospitals from 21 countries have become twinned with Ukrainian hospitals. Among the healthcare institutions that have become partners are multidisciplinary (including university) hospitals, children’s hospitals, specialized oncology and psychiatric institutions, and medical universities from France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, and Poland. Over the past 6 months, the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, and the United States have joined the international medical partnership initiative.

Medical institutions from 15 oblasts have joined the partnership, including Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Volyn, and Kyiv.

Thanks to the expansion of the initiative and effective cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign doctors, we have achieved significant results and provided specialized medical care in extremely difficult cases. These include the following partnerships, among others:

• Kryvyi Rih - Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden). For the first time, Ukrainian doctors performed surgery on a soldier with a metal fragment that had passed through his ear canal and stuck in the joint of his lower jaw. Using an exoscope in 3D mode with multiple zoom, the doctors managed to successfully remove the fragment through the external auditory canal. As a result, the function of the joint was preserved, the bite is normal, and the hearing is preserved. The case is unique, and the Ukrainian doctors shared their experience with specialists at the Karolinska University Hospital.
• Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital and Nottingham University Hospital (UK). As part of the partnership, British colorectal surgeons visited the Lviv hospital: Charles Maxwell Armstrong and Nina Randawa (Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust). Together with the British colleagues, 23 patients were consulted and 6 laparoscopic colorectal surgeries were performed. They also performed one of the most complicated operations in colorectal surgery on a 28-year-old mother of two with a hereditary disease (familial adenomatous polyposis syndrome). The colon was covered with thousands of potentially fatal polyps. Thanks to international cooperation between doctors from Lviv and the UK, a unique operation was performed. The surgeons removed the affected intestine, formed a new reservoir from the small intestine and restored the digestive tract - all using a minimally invasive method.
• Superhumans and AP-HP Pitié Salpêtrière University Hospitals, Paris, France, and Amiens Hospital, France - the story of Ms. Valentyna, who is originally from Siverskodonetsk. The woman worked as a baker. In May 2022, when an enemy shell hit, Valentyna was also in the kitchen preparing lunch. As a result, she sustained injuries to her face, a head injury and lost an eye. The woman underwent 6 surgeries in different medical institutions. As part of the next stage of the Ukrainian-French mission, she underwent reconstructive surgery at the Superhumans Center. This was the hundredth surgery performed by the Superhumans Center for Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery within the framework of the Ukrainian-French mission. The surgeons removed outdated metal structures, installed a customized implant to restore the orbital walls, performed eyelid, upper lip and mouth corner plastic surgery, and a facelift.
• Unbroken and the U.S. Clinic - for the first time in Ukraine, surgeons at St. Panteleimon Hospital performed a unique operation using the facial nerve reconstruction method. 33-year-old Olha Rudenko from Kherson, who suffered for several years from the consequences of nerve damage after surgery on the parotid gland, lost the ability to smile and close her left eye. After unsuccessful attempts at treatment in other medical institutions, Olha had almost lost hope when Lviv specialists decided to help her. Under the supervision of experienced surgeons who had undergone training in the United States, a complex operation was performed to resuscitate the facial nerve. Two months after the surgery, Olha started smiling again, and her left eye is finally closing. Although her recovery will take another year, she has already felt an improvement in her quality of life.
• Partnership between Okhmatdyt and Necker-Enfants AP-HP Malades Hospital, Paris (France) - the first surgery in Ukraine for a child with Apert syndrome was performed. The 4-year-old boy has been treated at Okhmatdyt since birth. For the first time, he underwent a unique surgery to advance the frontal area, orbits and upper jaw in a single monoblock with the participation of a well-known plastic surgeon Roman Khonsari.
• Unbroken and Primo Levi (Paris) is the story of the treatment of Bohdan Zarytskyi, an Azov soldier who was held in terrible russian captivity in the notorious Olenivka, where he survived torture and beatings. When he returned home, he suffered from nightmares and physical discomfort. At the UNBROKEN Center, he underwent comprehensive therapy to restore his mental health. Specialists worked with him through an integrated approach: art therapy, body-oriented and exposure therapy.

It should be noted that by developing the medical partnership initiative, Ukrainian doctors can restore not only physical but also mental health to patients. Strengthening international medical partnerships also allows Ukrainian medics to exchange experience with their foreign colleagues, and the medical sector to develop at all levels. In the future, the experience gained will be implemented in the best practices of providing medical care to Ukrainian patients.

For reference: the event was supported by the World Health Organization and the Dutch government, Expertise France, Hospital Partnerships (GIZ) and Project HOPE.