“After a great ordeal of operations, demanding procedures and the use of modern technologies, the girl survived and went to Ukraine,” said Robert Zajíček, head of the burn medicine clinic at Vinohrady Hospital.
When Julia was transported from the Lviv region to Prague two years ago, she had burns on sixty percent of her body. “We contacted the head at the time because we knew that we could not save her in our conditions,” said Vasyl Savchyn from the Lviv hospital, who has the girl in her care and came to Prague for the procedure.
But recently, little Julija had to undergo another procedure, for which she came to Prague. Her body is growing faster than the scarred skin, which is common in similarly burned individuals.
Photo: Royal Vinohrady University Hospital
Robert Zajíček, head of the burn medicine clinic of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, and Ukrainian surgeon Vasyl Savchyn during the operation of little Julia.
“The problem of burned patients is not only in the acute phase, but also in the subsequent one. Unfortunately, the scars that patients have often do not grow as fast as the patients’ bodies. “Julinka developed a foot deformity, she couldn’t step, her toes are pulled up, which bothers her in shoes,” explained the manager.
Severe burns heal. Little Julia will soon be released from Lviv
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“We performed a unique operation where we opened the scar, returned the fingers to their original position and inserted a new artificial skin,” added Zajíček.
Doctors used a new, unique artificial tissue from Australia, which is less prone to inflammation than conventional materials. So far, only a handful of patients in Europe have it. It is not excluded that Julia will need a similar operation again. It will depend on how fast it grows.
They have nowhere to rehabilitate
Thanks to the precise work of the doctors from the General University Hospital and the Vinohrady University Hospital, the girl was saved and, as they emphasize, her quality of life is improving. Last year, she and her family went to a Czech spa for several weeks to rehabilitate, thanks to the Medevac humanitarian health program, which is supported by the Ministry of the Interior.
After that, she returned to Ukraine with her family, where she will go again even after the recent operation. For patients with so many scars, rehabilitation, which exercises the elasticity of the new skin, is key. However, due to ongoing Russian aggression, it is not possible to provide this care in Ukraine.
“Patients who have scars like Julija’s do not currently have the possibility of rehabilitation, they cannot even reach it. Together with the Red Cross, we devised a project that will enable self-rehabilitation of patients at home. It will show what mothers can do at home to improve the quality of children’s scars,” Zajíček explained.
Doctors there encounter burns very often because of the war. But they lacked the necessary equipment and skills in tissue transplantation. Doctors from Vinohrady therefore trained their Ukrainian colleagues and, in cooperation with the Red Cross, provided them with the necessary equipment. The goal is to provide adequate care to as many Ukrainian residents as possible directly in their homeland. The transport of little Julia through Poland to Prague was rather an exceptional rescue mission.
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