A well-known Swiss plastic surgeon, Clement Schistel, came to Lviv for the International Burn Conference.
The day before, he visited the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital of the First Medical Association, where he met with two Ukrainian children whom he had previously treated in Switzerland.
“The boys are namesakes. Both are Maxim. In 2023, the children were sent abroad for treatment. The Swiss government covered the costs of the children’s treatment under the Medevac medical evacuation programme, which operates under a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the European Commission with the support of WHO, European governments and many partners. And it saved the boys. A year ago, not a single burn unit in Ukraine had the necessary conditions to save the most serious patients, and no one would take on the task.
The youngest, 10-year-old Maksymko, had 70% of his burns. He received them during a blackout when, while doing his homework, he accidentally knocked over a candle and his synthetic clothes caught fire. When Maksym saw his doctor, Clemens Shistel, he immediately ran into his arms because he remembers his saviour well.
The other Maksym is 17 years old. He received an electric shock when he climbed onto a train carriage. A current of 27,000 volts passed through his body. The fact that the boy survived and, despite burns to 40% of his body, fully recovered and returned to normal life is a real miracle, doctors say. Today, Maksym is studying to become a conductor,” said the first medical centre in Lviv.
It should be noted that Clemens Schistel is a leading plastic surgeon who until recently headed the Children’s Burns Centre at the Children’s Hospital of Zurich. His innovative methods of reconstructive surgery for children are recognised in Europe and around the world. He also actively rescued children from Ukraine during the war, organising their evacuation and treatment in Switzerland. His approach to large-scale skin substitutes has helped restore health and life to many Ukrainian children who suffered from severe burns.
As a reminder, the International Burn Conference is taking place in Lviv with the participation of leading burn, plastic and reconstructive surgeons from Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Taiwan, Ukraine, Australia and the United Kingdom.
The conference is organised and co-organised by the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine as part of the Burn Care Alliance project, the Government of Taiwan, the European Burn Association, the Taiwan Association for Burn Treatment and Wound Healing, the Association of Combustiologists of Ukraine with the support of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the First Medical Association of Lviv.