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News Humanitarian/Medical

CUSAP missions restore hope for a better-quality life.

It has been nineteen months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in an almost 10-year-long war. Thousands of lives have been lost, and thousands are forever changed by injuries sustained either on the battlefield or while simply waiting for a bus or turning in for the night. During the twenty-first century, in the heart of Europe, this is the reality of millions in Ukraine.

Surviving a mine blast or a missile attack is a blessing, but it is also the beginning of a long and painful journey to recovery. Veterans and civilians with craniofacial, head and neck, and orthopedic injuries who cannot be further helped in Ukraine are referred to the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP), where a team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, internists, nurses, and support staff deliver complex, life-altering reconstructive surgeries and pre- and post-surgical care to give patients a chance to return to a normal life.

For a glimpse into the life-altering work of the CUSAP team, we would like to share the story of Pavlo, one of 286 patients helped since the program was established in 2014 by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre under the leadership of CUSAP’s head surgeon, Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn.

About a third of patients return for multiple missions as their injuries are so severe that their recovery is a multi-step process with many procedures performed by the multidisciplinary team of surgeons. Pavlo is one of such repeat patients. He sustained a mine blast injury on August 31, 2022. He was missing the midsection of his face with full exposure of his nasal cavity. Pavlo was referred to CUSAP and became a patient in November 2022, CUSAP’s second mission in Poland.

To date, he has undergone reconstruction of his nasal framework, followed by nasal reconstruction and lip reconstruction and revision. Between missions, he was operated on by Dr. Oleksandr Lompas, a Ukrainian surgeon, who joined several missions and operated alongside Dr. Antonyshyn and the Canadian team. Dr. Lompas managed Pavlo’s case in Ukraine and performed smaller operations to maintain his progress and prepare him for the more significant procedures on the missions.

Please meet Pavlo and see his progress with CUSAP…

Photos by Andrey Syrko

On Tuesday, September 26, Pavlo had another long set of surgical procedures done by the CUSAP multidisciplinary team to further reconstruct his midface with a forearm flap and bone and skin grafts.

As Pavlo nears the end of his recovery, there are many more who are only at the beginning. As the war continues and Ukraine fights to liberate its land and people from under Russian occupation, more veterans and civilians will need reconstructive surgical aid.

We are grateful for the generosity and steadfast support of our donors for enabling the CUSAP team to restore hope and change lives of hundreds of Ukrainians, like Pavlo, who have suffered a serious physical toll as a direct result of war.

To continue supporting the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program, please visit www.cufoundation.ca. Thank you, Дякуємо, Merci.

Background

Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) was established in 1995 to coordinate, develop, organize and implement aid projects created by Canadians and directed to Ukraine. Read more about CUF’s history on Wikipedia.

Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP) was established by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation together with the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to help Ukrainians who were severely injured during the Revolution of Dignity in 2013 and the subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine in 2014. Since then, Canadian plastic surgeons have operated on 286 patients – civilians and veterans. The surgeries have significantly improved the quality of life of Ukrainians who undergo the operations.

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News Humanitarian/Medical

CUSAP Team Lands in Poland for the Fourth Surgical Mission.

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation is pleased to announce the fourth humanitarian surgical aid mission of the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP), which will take place from September 17 to October 4, 2023, in Poland. 

Next week, CUSAP surgeons, internists, nurses, and support staff will travel to Poland to deliver complex and life-altering surgeries to Ukrainians injured during Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.  

Every CUSAP mission hopes to ease the tremendous burden on the Ukrainian healthcare system by lending the time and expertise of our highly skilled and dedicated volunteer medical professionals, who deliver surgeries as well as pre- and post-surgical care with integrity and compassion. 

Photos taken by Andrey Syrko

The Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program would not be possible without the help of our collaborators and the support of hundreds of donors. 

In addition to funding from the CUF-UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, we would like to express our gratitude to two incredibly generous anonymous donors, who contributed $200,000.00 CAD and $75,000.00 USD to fund the September 2023 CUSAP mission. 

It is the generosity of all our donors and supporters that enables the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to restore hope and change the lives of Ukrainians who have suffered a serious physical toll as a direct result of the war. Thank you, Дякуємо, Merci! 

To make your contribution and follow the latest news on CUSAP, please click hereCanadian donations are eligible for tax receipts from the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. 

Background

CUF-UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (UHA) was launched in 2022 by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to coordinate the provision of humanitarian assistance quickly and efficiently to civilians impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including relief for displaced persons in Europe and Canada.

To date, we have delivered over $46 million in food, medicine, emergency shelter, mental health support, surgical aid, firefighter gear, individual first aid kits, ambulances, generators, and many more types of aid.

Please click here to read further about our humanitarian relief efforts since the full-scale invasion on February 24th, 2022.

Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) was established in 1995 to coordinate, develop, organize and implement aid projects created by Canadians and directed to Ukraine. Read more about CUF’s history on Wikipedia and donate.

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News Humanitarian/Medical

Third Mission of CUSAP for Ukrainians Wounded In War Underway in Poland

The third Canadian reconstructive surgery mission of the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP) is underway at a Polish hospital in the city of Cžeładz. From April 22 to May 6, mission members are providing complex reconstructive surgical care to patients from Ukraine, war victims who have been injured in the gunfire and explosions brought by Russian aggression.

After undergoing remote examination by Canadian doctors, 48 Ukrainian patients are scheduled to undergo surgeries during the mission. Most of the patients require complex post-traumatic reconstructive surgery on craniofacial injuries, and on injuries to their soft tissues, upper and lower extremities, as well as burns.

“The cases are horrendous, they are getting much worse,” noted Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn, MD, FRCS(C), MSM, CUSAP Founder and Head Surgeon, “it’s to the point where Ukraine is having trouble handling them.”

The surgeries will take place in three operating rooms, with three surgical teams operating simultaneously; the surgeries are expected to range from 5 to 15 hours, depending on injury severities. Canadian doctors will be operating on a few of the patients for the second and third times. Following post-operative care, patients will be transported back to Ukraine, in the care of specialists.

The present surgical mission team consists of more than 40 volunteer medical professionals from different provinces of Canada and the US: 9 surgeons, 5 anesthesiologists, 4 physicians and 23 nurses (2 from the US); each surgical team consists of multidisciplinary staff, and each has its own surgical equipment and supplies.

Photo by Andrey Syrko

Another vital component of this, and every, CUSAP mission is the educational one: Ukrainian surgeons are invited to train with their Canadian colleagues, who developed a special educational seminar on craniofacial surgery for the Ukrainians. The current mission will see 15 Ukrainian doctors involved. The goal of the surgical missions’ educational component is to create a learning environment where knowledge is exchanged in order to improve patient outcomes back in Ukraine.

The reconstructive surgery missions were established by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation in partnership with Sunnybrook Science Health Center to provide aid to the people of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2014; Canadian surgeons have operated on 286 patients since then, and the surgeries have significantly improved their quality of life.

From 2014 to 2020, Canadian surgical missions operated in the Kyiv Military Hospital, during which time the Canada-Ukraine Foundation provided nearly $1.5 million in operating room equipment and supplies. Canadian doctors have also performed surgeries in Lviv and Odesa.

The current mission is the tenth since 2014, and the third to take place in Poland since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The two previous CUSAP missions to Poland took place in September and November, 2022.

The host hospital: Powiatowy Zespół Zakładów Opieki Zdrowotnej in Cžeładz, Poland

The three most recent missions are funded by donor support collected through the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (UHA).

Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (UHA) was launched in 2022 by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to coordinate the provision of humanitarian assistance quickly and efficiently to civilians impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including relief for displaced persons in Europe and Canada, and medicines, food, emergency shelter, surgical aid, veterans’ needs, psychological support, winterization, demining and ambulances in Ukraine. Click here to learn more about and support the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) was established in 1995 to coordinate, develop, organize and implement aid projects created by Canadians and directed to Ukraine. Read more about CUF’s history on Wikipedia.

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News Humanitarian/Medical

Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP): First mission since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

September 5th to 20th, a team of 30 Canadian medical professionals travelled to Czeladz, Poland to treat Ukraine’s victims of war.

Team (35 individuals) consisted of:

  • Medicine
  • Anesthesia
  • Pharmacy
  • Nursing
  • Procurement/Equipment manager
  • Administration
Image is courtesy of Anka Wrzesnewskyj

The primary goal of the mission was to provide complex reconstructive surgical care to victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This was an exploratory (pilot) mission to:

  • Organize and fully equip an expert multidisciplinary Canadian volunteer surgical team
  • Identify a suitable host hospital, and establish the requisite professional collaborations, processes and protocols
  • Develop and implement a method for patient referral, virtual triage, safe transport and repatriation
The host hospital: Powiatowy Zespół Zakładów Opieki Zdrowotnej in Czeladz, Poland // Image is courtesy of Anka Wrzesnewskyj

CUSAP is well supported by volunteers, supporters and donors. Over $1.5 million dollars of equipment and supplies were donated from major companies. Volunteers provided warehouses, physical and monetary support allowing the team to transport over 14,000 tons of medical supplies and equipment.

Logistical planning and arrangements involved multiple levels which included both Ministry of Health in Poland and Ukraine. Licensing, patient documentations and arrangements of transportation were a major focus to ensure the process ran effectively and efficiently.

Image is courtesy of Anka Wrzesnewskyj

The Canadian team together completed numerous virtual patient assessments and an initial outpatient preoperative clinic (September 11, 2022) assessing 45 patients. Patients arrived to Poland in ambulances and were admitted and assessed by both the Canadian and Polish teams. Patients underwent multidisciplinary assessments and preoperative anesthesia evaluations. Where required, surgical plans were developed and operating room bookings were completed.

After 5 days of surgery over 40 extremely complex procedures were performed. The surgeries focused on the reconstruction of post traumatic or post ablative defects and deformities of the face, craniofacial skeleton, and upper and lower extremities. Etiology of the deformities varied, including military and civilians but all were war casualties.

The patients were monitored postoperatively, and provided care by the Canadian ward team consisting of highly qualified physicians and nurses. Team continued to receive daily updates on progress and recovery post-mission, and also provided necessary advice and guidance to leading (Ukrainian) physicians on care for these patients. 

The stories shared by the patients left a mark on the whole team. From a young soldier who was the only survivor after an attack on his brigade, to the woman who lost her home and nearly her life when a missile hit her village on a bright summer day.

The war continues and innocent lives are affected and lost every day. There are many more stories like these and so many more people in need of our help. 

The next CUSAP mission is being planned for the end of the year. Please continue supporting the casualties of this war by donating to CUSAP via Canada-Ukraine Foundation.

Background

Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) was established in 1995 to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine and to the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.