United for Kids: helping children with burns

On February 24, a major Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Thousands of patients with mine-blast injuries. Among them are children who are not yet a year old. The National Center "Unbroken" at the First Medical Association of Lviv is the only tertiary care center in Ukraine that provides assistance to burn patients and patients in need of reconstructive surgery almost around the clock.

According to statistics, 12,000 children in Ukraine suffer burns every year, and 25-40 of them die as a result of life-threatening burns. Because of the war, this number is growing every day. Almost all mine-blast wounds are accompanied by thermal injuries in children. Burn injuries rank second among childhood injuries and are among the most difficult to treat. Currently, there are 16 burn units in Ukraine, but there is no quality care anywhere. Ukraine remains in last place in the world in terms of burn survival.
Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, the National Rehabilitation Center "Unbroken" based at the First Medical Unit of Lviv has become one of the main shelters for children affected by the war. The hospital has received more than 3,000 children fleeing the war, including 250 with mine-blast injuries and burns from all over Ukraine. 

"After the tragic helicopter crash in Brovary on January 18, little Alisa, who was in kindergarten at the time of the explosion, was evacuated to our Center. Her body was affected by burns of almost 70%. We could only stabilize her and hand her over to our Austrian partners for further treatment. And when every minute counts and transportation is dangerous due to infectious diseases, our goal is to make sure that Ukrainian children like Alisa are treated at home. Now Alisa is being treated abroad and is bravely undergoing difficult tests. Her father says that the girl is surprisingly courageous for her age. He adds that he dreams of Alisa being cured and returning home. And then she will go to school and will be able to get her coveted orange belt in karate-do," says Halyna Sayan, a combustiologist at the First Medical Association of Lviv.

Currently, the Center needs assistance in the form of an ultra-modern laser - the Quanta System Youlaser CO2 laser system - for skin resurfacing (laser grinding), resection and coagulation. This is a mandatory and necessary part of the treatment of children with burns, which is used to destroy and remove tissue due to vaporization, which is achieved by exposing waves of different lengths and impulsivity to a specific problem area of the skin. In simple words, the laser removes scars that remain on the body. And it's not just about aesthetics. After all, large scars after burns in children stop tissue growth and affect growth, which leads to deformation of the body. It also causes pain and discomfort.
No public hospital has such a laser! And the cost of services in private clinics is unaffordable for most patients.