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22nd arrival of severely injured Ukrainian soldiers at the East Hospital
Today, on 23 January 2025, the Riga East Clinical University Hospital (East Hospital) once again, for the 22nd time to be specific, joins forces with the charity project M-Help.com – this day marks the 22nd arrival of severely injured Ukrainian soldiers in the war started by Russia. Overall, the East Hospital has admitted more than 434 patients brought from Ukraine since the outbreak of the war. 18 war victims have made the long journey to Latvia’s largest hospital this time.
The bus carrying Ukrainian soldiers was received by the East Hospital’s medical team, including the Medical Director, Juris Nikolajenko, and the representatives from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Latvia, Natalia Bereza and Evgen Jankovsky.
As usual, patients were admitted to the East Hospital by a multi-disciplinary medical team comprised by various specialists and nursing staff from the Emergency Medicine and Patient Admission Clinic (EMPAC).
Treating war-injured patients at the East Hospital is always a collective effort, involving physicians from many different specialties, such as traumatologists, surgeons, microsurgeons, infectious disease specialists, physical and rehabilitation medicine physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiologists, and laboratory specialists. Since Russia’s war against Ukraine, which in reality began in 2014, microsurgeons have also been actively involved in treating war-related injuries.
“Patients undergo surgeries for nerve damage of varying complexity and localization, including procedures for closing, replacing, and reconstructing bone and soft tissue defects using microvascular tissue flaps. Since the beginning of the war in 2014, more than 150 reconstructive surgeries have already been performed on Ukrainian soldiers at the Latvian Microsurgery Centre,” reveals Dr. med. Uldis Krustiņš, Head of the Latvian Microsurgery Centre.
All patients arriving from Ukraine underwent a thorough health evaluation at the EMPAC, including various laboratory tests and the examination for the possible presence of multidrug-resistant infections, as they can rapidly emerge and spread in wartime conditions. Several injured patients underwent additional radiological examinations by specialists in the Emergency Radiology Department to determine the specifics of their injuries.
This time, four soldiers who have sustained very severe war injuries will receive treatment in the specialized clinics of the East Hospital. One patient will receive treatment in the Trauma and Orthopaedics Clinic under the supervision of surgeons Andris Vikmanis and Zangus Pīlaps, while the other three soldiers will be treated within the microsurgery specialty, under the care of microsurgeons Mārtiņš Kapickis, Uldis Krustiņš, and Jānis Zariņš. The patients will undergo a series of complex and consecutive surgical procedures in multiple stages. Following these intricate and severe operations for war-related injuries, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation specialists, and functional experts will work with the injured soldiers.
Meanwhile, other patients will go to other healthcare facilities in Latvia, depending on the nature of their injuries, after being examined at the EMPAC. Three patients are expected to continue their treatment in the Trauma and Orthopaedics Hospital, another three patients will be transferred to the Vaivari National Rehabilitation Centre, while eight patients will be transported to the Jaunķemeri Rehabilitation Centre.
It is the private initiative by the founders of the charity project M-Help.com, Arvis Rekets and Mārtiņš Medinieks that made it possible to transport the patients affected by the war in Ukraine to the East Hospital. Meanwhile, the Georgy Logvinsky Charity Foundation in Ukraine has equipped and renovated a bus used for the transportation of these patients.
Photos documenting the arrival of injured Ukrainian soldiers at the East Hospital are available here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBZ56G
About the East Hospital
Riga East Clinical University Hospital is the largest and strategically significant multi-profile hospital in the country. The hospital consists of five inpatient facilities – Gaiļezers, Latvian Oncology Centre, Biķernieki, Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Centre, and Latvian Infectious Diseases Centre, along with various specialised centres and clinics. The hospital provides highly specialised inpatient and secondary outpatient healthcare, offering multidisciplinary tertiary-level treatment and care in line with modern technology and medical knowledge. Approximately 80% of all cancer patients in Latvia are treated at the hospital. It serves as a practical training base for both Latvian educational institutions and foreign students, providing further education and knowledge transfer to healthcare specialists within and beyond the country. The hospital engages in scientific research and develops innovative methods for patient treatment. As the third-largest employer in the country, the hospital employs around 5000 staff members.
