They removed tumors, treated burns. Doctors from Olomouc helped in India

Doctors from the Olomouc University Hospital (FNOL) have completed a humanitarian mission in India. In the city of Jamkhed with a population of 90,000, health workers from Olomouc helped the poorest people in the middle of March. For example, they treated burns and post-traumatic conditions and performed surgery in the abdominal area. They even removed tumors and the consequences of birth defects.

Head of the Emergency Department of the Olomouc National University Hospital, Hynek Fiala, and his wife, Martina Fialová, an anesthesiology nurse at the Department of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Medicine, went to the Indian state of Maharashtra, east of Mumbai. “Thanks to the humanitarian company GICAM, we were able to build a bigger team, we managed to provide more than fifty patients with various types of procedures, from procedures in the abdominal area, treatment of burns and various post-traumatic conditions to the removal of tumors and the consequences of birth defects. The youngest patient was a year and a half and the oldest around 75 years old,” remembers the humanitarian mission from March 15 to 27 Hynek Fiala.

According to Fiala, there is modern health care in India, but it is only available to the wealthier strata of the population. “Everything is built on a commercial principle. Fifty percent of Indians live on less than one euro a day, so they simply cannot afford medical care. Even in the region, where we have been going for several years, civilizational progress can be seen – a new highway is being built, shops are being built, and in many places people live very much like here. However, the majority of the population will never touch these achievements.” describes the South Asian reality of Hynek Fiala.

Local Indians learn about the presence of doctors through leaflets, posters and social media campaigns. The Indian CRHP organization then pre-selects a part of the interested parties and invites them to an indicative visit. “Then the final phase of the treatment is up to us. This year, for example, we operated on an elderly man with a large benign tumor on the back of his head and neck, due to which he was practically excluded from everyday life for a long time. The case of our youngest patient, who was about a year and a half old and fell into a fire two months before our arrival, was also very interesting. Due to incorrect treatment, the child had a practically frozen hand, which would probably have remained non-functional without our surgical help. The fact that she successfully recovered after our performance is really very motivating and pleasantly uplifting. It can be said that the basis of our work in India always lies mainly in reconstructive plastic surgery.” says the Olomouc doctor.

The same mission will be repeated again in a year. According to Fiala, there are so many people in need in Jamkhed that another hospital could be filled with them. “However, space is not a problem there, it is the lack of doctors and medical staff. Therefore, on behalf of the poor part of India, we would like to thank the management of the Olomouc University Hospital for allowing us to do this humanitarian work and help our fellow citizens.” concluded.