Endorsed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, the conference gathered around 275 physicians from around the country
Doctors from all over Ukraine gathered in Kyiv Oct. 27-28 to attend a conference on cardiac birth defects in newborns. The two-day educational event, the second of its kind to be held in Ukraine, was organized by the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund (CCRDF), a non-profit medical relief organization based in the United States.
Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky, president and founder of the CCRDF, said that he intends to turn the conference into a yearly event.
“It doesn’t make a difference what country it is, as long as you have the proper methods and equipment,” Matkiwsky told the Post.
Endorsed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, the conference gathered around 275 physicians from around the country. Lecturers, including a group of cardiac specialists from the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, discussed techniques related to cardiacsurgery, the treatment of congenital heart disease in newborns and other topics.
Matkiwsky said the most interesting lectures were given by American cardiac surgeon Dr. Steven Shultz, director of the intensive care unit at the University of Miami medical center, who explained how to structure a proper intensive care unit.
A key theme of the conference was the importance of a team approach to treating newborn cardiac patients.
“We don’t have such a thing here in Ukraine as a well-balanced team approach, so I think it was a lesson learned by all the physicians,” said Matkiwsky.
In order to practice team skills, seven Ukrainian physicians who attended the conference were taken to the U.S. last January for an intensive two-week training session in Miami. CCRDF plans to send more physicians to the U.S. for similar training next year.
According to CCRDF, cardiac birth defects in newborns in Ukraine are a significant problem, due to a lack of adequate facilities, equipment and expertise within the medical community.
“As a result, we have given several conferences nationwide on treating newborns and cardiac birth defects,” Matkiwsky said.
“There is a standard number of cases all over the world. However, in Ukraine it’s much higher than any place else,” he added.
When CCRDF started operations in Ukraine about 17 years ago, the number of infants born with cardiac birth defects was about 300 a year. The number has since grown to around 4,000 to 6,000 cases a year, with only 1,700 getting immediate treatment.
“For the past three years, they have been able to perform surgeries in over 1,600 to 1,700 cases a year … But still if you have over 6,000 children born … you have to come up to that level,” said Matkiwsky, who believes the infant mortality rate from such cases can be reduced to 5 percent.
Matkiwsky attributes the increase in cardiac defects in Ukraine to the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident.
“In Ukraine … those parents and people who were evacuated from that area, including the cleanup crews … [numbered] about 600,000 … their children of course have a much higher number of cardiac birth defects than any place else.
If children are left untreated, they become what Matkiwsky calls “cardiac invalids” later in life. The children will suffer from restricted physical function, have to live on medication and face a shorter life span.
The conference was held at the newly-opened Children’s Cardiovascular Surgery and Medical Center at the Oxmadyt Hospital, one of the only centers in Ukraine qualified to deal with complex surgical heart procedures on newborns. CCRDF relies on funding from private donors and organizations in the United States and Ukraine. They support and work with 24 hospitals throughout Ukraine.
