Physicians in Ashgabat Seek Help for Burn Victim

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When a fellow physician in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan suffered severe burns on over 50 percent of her body after a fire, doctors at the Niyazov Medical Consultative Center turned to the AIHA partner e-mail list to request help. The 35-year-old burn victim, after having her left hand amputated, needed extensive plastic surgery, which is not available in Turkmenistan.

Ashgabat physicians first received a response from partner Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, who referred them to Erebuni Hospital in Yerevan, Armenia. After contacting Yerevan and sending along the patient's photos and clinical record via the Internet, Ashgabat partners learned that the type of plastic surgery needed by the patient is available at Erebuni, and began making arrangements to transport her to Armenia.

Though the patient's relatives must pay for the trip, treatment at Erebuni will be provided for free, courtesy of the Armenian Ministry of Health.

"We needed real help for our patient, and we decided to try to receive this help through using an expanded e-mail request of our US, NIS and CEE partners," said Alexei Nekrasov, information coordinator at the Niyazov Medical Consultative Center.

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