The head of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova met with the transplant doctor Mikhail Kaabak, who was recently suspended from work with children. The result of the conversation was permission to conduct a kidney transplant operation on two 11-month-old twins, Roma and Vitalik Kuznetsov from Sakhalin, and the decision to restore the doctor to the state of the National Medical Research Center (NRC) of children's health.
“The Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova met with the transplant specialist Mikhail Kaabak. The result of the meeting was Veronika Skvortsova’s decision to include Mikhail Kaabak and Nadezhda Babenko in the group of transplantologists who work at the Children's Health Center, RT told the press service of the department. - The corresponding order of the minister was given to the leadership of the center. Earlier, Veronika Skvortsova stated that highly qualified medical assistance will be provided to all children in need of transplantation. ”
After the meeting, Kaabak himself went to the journalists. He said when the operation will be done 11-month-old Roma and Vitalik Kuznetsov.
“Our meeting with Veronika Igorevna was held with the productivity that we expected. Today, decisions have been made that will help all children in dire need of transplantation receive this assistance in full. As for Roma and Vitalik Kuznetsov, children do not tolerate dialysis well, they do not have the opportunity to grow to 9-10 kg required by other specialists. Therefore, transplantation will have to be done in the coming months. Before her, you need to get a lot of vaccinations - it will take 1.5 - 2 months. The operation will be carried out one month after the last vaccine, ”the doctor said.
- © Photo from the personal archive
According to Kaabak, no financial investments are required from parents - all necessary vaccines are available. The medicine will be taken from the residue formed after the closure of his treatment program in September.
“After transplantation, children will be able to go to kindergarten, then to school, university and become adults. The average duration of the kidney will be 30 years. After this, a second transplant is required. But children will have time to grow up, ”said Kaabak.
In turn, the children's father Sergey Kuznetsov told RT that he was very grateful to everyone who fought for permission to conduct the operation.
“There was already absolute despair - the children, in fact, were dying, and no one wanted to take on them. Thanks to the meeting with Veronika Igorevna Skvortsova and thanks to the lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who made an appointment, my sons will undergo kidney transplantation. But the most important thing is that another 14 children who are in dire need of transplantation will be operated on, ”said Kuznetsov.
According to Kuznetsov, his babies have had kidney problems since birth. Doctors later diagnosed congenital nephrotic syndrome and renal failure.
“Roma still had a problem - the kidney began to grow and began to put pressure on one lung. We urgently needed a transplant, but they refused us everywhere. Then we met Kaabak, and he agreed to help us. Six months ago, we underwent an emergency operation - they removed the kidneys for both children, ”Kuznetsov told RT. - Then we lay for three months, everything seemed to be fine. Doctors said you can go home. Transplantation was planned in January 2020. "
However, according to his father, on October 20, little Roma became ill - the fluid filled the whole lung. They could not perform hemodialysis for the child - on Sakhalin the device is very old and is intended only for adults. In the NMIC, Kuznetsov was told that they were ready to urgently accept and conduct the necessary operation.
“Now Roman weighs 6.5 kg, we do not have enough weight for transplantation. Operations are done when the weight is from 12 to 15 kg. Now he still assimilates food poorly. And they advise us to somehow gain weight. The novel is now in Moscow, and Vitalik on Sakhalin, yesterday he was in intensive care. I think that Vitalik will also be transferred to Moscow soon, ”father tells RT.
In turn, the lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said that he immediately wanted to help the Kuznetsov, learning about their misfortune.
- © Photo from the personal archive
“My wife told me about this situation, and I immediately turned on - I immediately called Veronika Skvortsova. I am very glad that the meeting was so constructive: Veronika Igorevna listened to me, the father of children and the doctor Mikhail Kaabak, and made the right decision - to reinstate him and assistant Nadezhda Babenko in the post and allow the children to undergo these operations, ”said Kucherena.
According to him, innocent children should not suffer because of personnel issues.
Doctors Mikhail Kaabak and Nadezhda Babenko were fired from the Children's Health Center, where they worked at a quarter rate, on November 12th. Doctors claimed that they were fired due to the fact that during the unique operations they used the drug "Alemtuzumab", the use of which is not regulated during such interventions. At the very center, the personnel decision was explained by the reorganization and the appearance of a new full rate in the institution, in connection with which Babenko and Kaabak considered the incomplete rates unnecessary.
The decision to dismiss transplantologists caused a great resonance. The media reported that Kaabak is the only transplantologist in Russia that performs surgery for children with weight deficiency, and his departure from the center may call into question the lives of many patients.