After just 24 hours on the ground in Armenia, a medical delegation to treat hundreds of victims of an explosion in a fuel depot last Wednesday in Nagorno-Karabakh had provided care to dozens of patients and performed dozens of emergency surgical procedures.
The medical relief mission left Israel on Tuesday night to provide critical assistance to civilian victims, many of them suffering from serious burns. The 14-person director-general Prof. Ofer Merin, is a leading cardiothoracic surgeon. His team includes plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and burn-care specialists.
The mission was launched in response to a request from the Armenian health ministry and the World Health Organization to their Israeli counterparts to send relief teams and equipment to the nation’s capital city of Yerevan where many of the victims had been evacuated.
The Shaare Zedek team includes Merin and Dr. Yoav Granowitz, director of the plastic surgery department, and senior plastic surgeons Dr. Adi Lotan and Dr. Ronen Toledano; anesthesiologists Dr. Mohamed Jabar, Dr. David Ben Ari; and Rachel Havivi, head nurse in the plastic surgery department.
They are joined by colleagues from Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba including Dr. Yaron Shoham, director of the burns unit and the plastic surgery department, Dr. Eliran Yaakobi and Dr. Suvchi Khakrush from plastic surgery; Dr. Gal Ron and Dr. Michael Dubilet from the hospital’s anesthesiology and intensive care service; and Yassin Mamduch, a surgical nurse.
“This is an extremely rare type of incident with a very large number of burn victims, and we see it as a distinct honor to be heading up this mission and providing such a necessary response on behalf of the State of Israel, which was the first nation to arrive in this role,” said Merin. “I want to express our thanks to the Health Ministry in Jerusalem for their commitment to supporting our teams from Shaare Zedek and Soroka who immediately responded to the call and were ready to leave as soon as possible for this important mission. This is further proof of how Israel stands ready at all times wherever in the world we might be needed.”
Granowitz added that the scope of this event “is truly extraordinary; we are treating over 150 patients who are all suffering from extreme burn wounds where they were injured while carrying fuel-laden containers and experienced serious burns to their face, chest, and extremities. This will require a large number of surgeries involving skin transplantation and skin replacement using materials and equipment donated with the support of the Tzamal Medical Corporation. Our team has created a working platform in coordination with our colleagues from Soroka to provide the best and most appropriate care possible. It’s a great honor to be a part of this mission.”
Shoham said, “We’re performing surgeries in two operating theaters at the same time, from morning till night, caring for patients with extremely complex burns and injuries. We’re extremely proud to be part of a mission representing our country that is helping save many lives and brings international pride and recognition to the state of Israel.”
The mission is expected to continue over the coming days with plans in place for the arrival of additional teams from other hospitals next week.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-761887