At the Faculty of Dentistry of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, a specialist school with international participation entitled “Interdisciplinary approach to treating children with cleft lip and palate” was held in Lviv, dedicated to the memory of Professor Ivan Hot. Doctors from the Children’s Medicine Centre were involved in organising and running the event.
The specialist school brought together experts from various regions of Ukraine — Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne. It was attended by maxillofacial surgeons, dentists, orthodontists, speech and language therapists, paediatricians and psychologists who work in multidisciplinary teams treating children with cleft lip and palate.
The programme featured speakers from the USA and Ukraine — world-class surgeons with experience in treating congenital facial anomalies. The key idea of the event was to share international standards of a multidisciplinary approach with Ukrainian specialists.
The team in Lviv, which brings together specialists from the Children’s Medicine Centre, the Okhmatdyt hospital and Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, is already working in line with the international standards discussed during the school.
Maxillofacial surgeon at the Children’s Medicine Centre and one of the co-organisers of the forum, Khrystyna Pohranychna, stressed the importance of combining clinical practice with academic work.
“All the missions we have already carried out are very important from a practical point of view. But the academic component is no less important. That is why we are organising symposia and a major conference with the participation of more than ten leading speakers from different countries around the world — from the USA, France and other countries. These are world-class surgeons who will be sharing their experience in treating congenital facial anomalies.”
According to her, this is how continuity of knowledge is built: the experience gained during international missions, including the Reconstruction Mission, is passed on to students, interns and junior doctors. She noted that as a practising clinician she combines surgical work with research activity and shares the knowledge she has gained with her trainees, for whom this experience is particularly valuable.
The specialist school in Lviv became another step towards building in Ukraine a system for treating cleft lip and palate that meets international standards and makes it possible not only to adopt but also to share the expertise developed.
The event was organised by the Charitable Foundation “Christian Medical Association of Ukraine”, the Children’s Medicine Centre, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University and the LNMU Dental Medical Centre.