An international ophthalmological mission, Vision for Ukraine, has taken place at the Children’s Medical Centre of the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Lviv, during which around 30 consultations and 18 highly complex surgical procedures were carried out for children.
Leading international experts in paediatric oculoplastic surgery took part in the work. The team of Ukrainian specialists, headed by the Director of the Paediatric Ophthalmology Clinic, Nataliia Hudyma, was strengthened by four doctors from the USA: Jorge Corona, Stuart Seiff, Dave Russell and Yurash Bilak.
The American surgeons specialise in eyelid reconstruction, treatment of lacrimal drainage pathologies and care for children with syndromic congenital anomalies. Among the most complex cases of this mission, doctors highlight surgery for a 10-year-old boy involving reconstruction of the orbital area and eyelid, repeat implant placement and the use of autografts.
All consultations and surgical procedures for patients were provided completely free of charge. Children came for treatment to Lviv Okhmatdyt from various regions of Ukraine – from Zakarpattia to Sumy, as well as from Cherkasy region and Kyiv region. This time the surgical team from the USA arrived in an expanded line-up of four specialists, whereas previously two or three doctors had taken part in the missions.
Lviv is developing a model of long-term cooperation launched in 2023, which is planned to be scaled up across the country. The organisers speak of their intention to increase the scope of such reconstructive missions by roughly threefold and gradually expand their geographical coverage from two to six regions of Ukraine.
The Vision for Ukraine mission is initiated and organised by the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine in partnership with LEAP Global Missions, AROMS and Ed’s Friends (Edward Ma). Photos provided by the Children’s Medical Centre and Tetiana Bezsmertna.