Dr. Kimit Rai, a surgeon in New Westminster, just got back from a humanitarian trip to Poland.
In order to do reconstructive surgery on persons hurt during the current crisis in Ukraine, Rai travelled to Poland with the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.
The surgeon has a vast wealth of knowledge and working experience as he has operated on more than 3,000 patients in 25 years, specializing in cleft palates and facial deformities.
Major reconstructive procedures were performed, according to Rai.
“There were several refugees from various locations, many of whom had gunshot wounds. ”
Rai joined a specialist group of medical professionals who operate in Poland to restore patients’ faces, limbs, and lives.
According to Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn with the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program, “the patients could not be treated adequately within Ukraine.”
“It’s a medical system targeted by Russia with more than 100 hospitals destroyed.
In Ukraine, the healthcare system is overburdened.
In the now war-torn nation, the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program has a lengthy history. In order to aid patients, both doctors first travelled to Kiev in 2014.
However, it was decided that sending in the Canadian volunteer squad would be too risky after the Russian assault started.
The search for a hospital in Poland near the border where patients could receive care before returning to their homes in Ukraine then got under way.
According to Julia Krekhovetsky-Malaniy from the Canada Ukraine Foundation, “when these patients arrive in Poland, they became friends, they became family.”
“For that reason, we keep working. ”
Looking ahead, Dr. Rai is now working on a plan to create a children’s surgery centre in Ukraine, which could be supported by Operation Rainbow Canada, a volunteer non-profit organization that helps children in need..
A British Columbian surgeon works as a volunteer in Poland for war victims in Ukraine.
About Author
