New York surgeon journeys to Ukraine to help 4-month-old Mariyka (02/02/03)

New York surgeon journeys to Ukraine to help 4-month-old Mariyka

by Andrew Nynka

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Mariyka Tkachuk was born in a Kyiv hospital. Like many newborns, Mariyka was healthy and adorable. Only months later, however, the same deadly virus that killed four other infants had also infected Mariyka.

The mysterious virus slowly ate away the cartilage in young Mariyka's nose, forcing doctors to surgically insert a breathing tube in the infant's throat in order for her to breathe. Sadly, the virus seriously scarred Mariyka, leaving the youngster with a badly disfigured nose and a closed nasal passage. But the work of one Ukrainian American facial surgeon with a plush New York practice, and the relief organization that initially found the child, may yet put the 4-month-old on the road to a normal life.

That road, said Dr. Oleh Slupchynskyj, the New York doctor who performed Mariyka's surgery, will be long and difficult. But, the doctor said, untreated, Mariyka's condition would have become a serious social stigma for her and would have made a terrible impact on the child's life.

"It's a quality of life issue," said Dr. Slupchynskyj, who grew up in New York City's Ukrainian East Village community, "and we're giving Mariyka the chance to live a normal life."

Officials from the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, a humanitarian organization established to help deal with the human legacy of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, first learned of the youngster on a routine visit to Kyiv Children's Hospital No. 2, a hospital the organization has supported for some time.

When CCRF co-founders Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky walked into the hospital during a November 2002 visit, the doctor there just looked at them and said "Thank God you're here. I need you to see something," Mrs. Matkiwsky remembered Dr. Oleh Kornichuk of Kyiv's Children's Hospital No. 2 say.

She learned of how a virus had wreaked havoc on the pediatric ward, claiming the lives of four children and leaving another with permanent brain damage, and met young Mariyka. Mariyka made an instant and strong impression. Mrs. Matkiwsky recalled thinking of doctors in the United States who might be able to open an airway for the youngster and help reconstruct her nose. Several possibilities came to mind.

Among them, the Matkiwskys were familiar with Dr. Oleh Slupchynskyj, having spent time with the doctor and his family at the Ukrainian National Association's Soyuzivka resort. Dr. Slupchynskyj attended St. George Ukrainian Catholic School in the East Village, was a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, and graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University before earning his medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla in 1991. The doctor and his Aesthetic Institute of New York, which estimates its facial reconstruction work at 20 percent of its overall work load, seemed well-suited to help Mariyka.

The only problem, Dr. Slupchynskyj noted, was the 4,700 miles that separated the doctor from his possible patient.

"I really didn't know what to expect. I asked that photographs of the child be sent immediately so that I could see what I was dealing with," Dr. Slupchynskyj remembered. But, even after seeing photographs of Mariyka, the doctor was still concerned. Properly sedating the youngster for the procedure to open an airway in Mariyka's nose worried the 37-year-old Dr. Slupchynskyj.

"He [the Ukrainian anesthesiologist] did a wonderful job sedating her," Dr. Slupchynskyj said. Initially, Mariyka was only to be sedated for an examination, however, "she was so well anesthetized that I felt we could go right ahead and create an airway," the doctor said.

The two-hour procedure to put a metal stent into Mariyka's nose went off without a hitch and the Ukrainian medical team proved themselves skilled and well-educated, Dr. Slupchynskyj recalled. "I saw them do things that I've never seen our doctors [in the United States] do. They [the Ukrainian medical team] are very talented," Dr. Slupchynskyj said, adding that unfortunately they do so much with so very little.

Dr. Slupchynskyj, however, is also no ordinary surgeon. While he regularly reshapes well-to-do New York faces by way of Botox and Collagen, he also spent four of his nights in Ukraine sleeping on the floor of CCRF's Kyiv office, eliminating the cost of a hotel room.

After landing in Kyiv Dr. Slupchynskyj insisted on immediately traveling to see Mariyka - Mrs. Matkiwsky recalled being impressed - foregoing a good night's rest after a long flight from New York. It was Dr. Slupchynskyj's second trip to Ukraine, but since Mariyka still has several more surgeries to get through, he estimates he'll have four more trips to Kyiv, with the next coming in the spring.

"They're short of so much equipment," said Dr. Slupchynskyj, who brought his own medical supplies, fearing that what might be provided wouldn't do the trick. But much of the equipment that now cares for Mariyka, as she begins her road to recovery, is the result of CCRF's mission in Ukraine. The pope also should be thanked, Mrs. Matkiwsky said.

While CCRF provided Dr. Kornichuk's hospital with several pulse oximiters, ventilators and incubators to care for newborns, one specific neonatal unit was a gift from Pope John Paul II during his 2001 trip to Ukraine.

The donated equipment has been a big help to the hospital, and specifically for Mariyka. But in order for her to progress any further, she will need a bronchoscope, a special tool Dr. Slupchynskyj will need in order to remove the artificial airway in Mariyka's throat. At several thousand dollars, obtaining it will be a matter of fundraising and the generosity of donors.

"He did a wonderful thing for this girl, "Mrs. Matkiwsky said. "He took time out of his own schedule to help this adorable child."

The Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund has set up a fund for Mariyka. For more information or to donate to the fund contact CCRF, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07080; phone, (973) 376-5140; fax, (973) 376-4988; e-mail, [email protected].

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