Parkland Hospital has one of the best burn units in the country and they are currently hosting a group of doctors from Ukraine to train them how to care for battlefield injuries, as Russia’s invasion of the country stretches into its fifth year.
Dr. Steven Orten is a plastic surgeon from Plano, and joined NTX Now host Ron Corning to talk about the ongoing training and how the collaboration is inspiring initiatives in other countries.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the ‘play’ button above.
How the partnership came to be
When Russia invaded Ukraine about four years ago, Orton says he was watching the news and wanted to help.
“I went over a few months after the war began and started offering my services as a medical doctor and a reconstructive surgeon to helping people who were injured,” he said. “I was received very warmly.”
Orton says being there, he developed a better understanding of the country’s medical needs. He also realized he couldn’t help them alone, but needed a team of doctors to assist him.
“Two months later, we went again, leading a team of doctors, and then since that time, we’ve been to Ukraine 10 times,” Orton said. “The project has grown into multiple doctors coming. We’ve led almost 100 doctors to Ukraine and helping people injured by the war.”
After those trips, Orton says he realized the resources he had in the United States could benefit Ukrainian doctors, so he started bringing doctors back to Dallas. The first group of overseas physicians are now training in burn surgery at Parkland’s Burn Center.
Ukrainian doctors
Orton says the doctors he works with from Ukraine have high-level training, and are teaching the doctors in Dallas quite a bit, too.
“They’re teaching us a lot of things, especially about the unique injuries that they’re experiencing during a war,” he said. “But we’re also able to teach them a lot regarding new techniques, new surgical skills, new products that are available to help patients with burns.”
While the injuries these overseas doctors are treating are burns, they are different than burns doctors may see from car wrecks. Orton says they are more complex to treat.
“They’re seeing patients who are injured with high ballistic impacts,” he said. “Bombs and drones that not only burn, but also destroy flesh. So, there’s a great deal of multiple effects of the injuries and the tissue damage that’s occurring.”
Streamlined teaching and moving forward
Doctors from Ukraine typically can’t stay in the U.S. for long, because doctors back home have to work extra to make up for their colleagues being gone.
“It would always be better if we could spend more time with them, but they are learning a lot of new techniques,” Orten said. “So the training…it’s not truncated because we’re limiting their time here. It’s more truncated because they need to get back and help their associates.”
After spending time in Ukraine, Orton says his life is much richer.
“My world has gotten a lot broader because I was willing to go the first time and help and now my life is just so much richer for knowing these incredible people, making new friends, really,” he said. “Taking on a project that is much bigger than myself, and because of that, I’ve been so impressed with the way the Dallas [and] North Texas community has received these doctors.”
“They’re keeping them in their homes, they’re providing entertainment for them, showing them our culture, and they have just received these Ukrainian doctors and nurses so warmly that it really gives me great hope for what the North Texas community can do to help our partners in Ukraine,” he said.
Ron Corning is a co-host of KERA’s NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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