The Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office of the Leningrad Region are conducting an investigation according to media reports about a 90-year-old siege woman from Vyborg, who herself performed a stomach operation without waiting for the help of doctors.

The woman suffers from cancer and suffers from severe pain, but she was not provided with timely medical assistance.

Following the results of the pre-investigation check, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Leningrad Region opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part 1 of Art.

238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (provision of services that do not meet the requirements of the safety of life or health of consumers).

“According to media reports, taking into account the existing oncological disease, the elderly woman was not hospitalized in a medical hospital, did not undergo surgery and did not provide her with palliative care.

Thus, her life and health were endangered.

As a result, the 90-year-old pensioner was forced to carry out an abdominal surgery on her own, "- said in a statement on the website of the regional department of the UK. 

The department clarified that they are carrying out all the necessary investigative measures to establish the reasons for the incident.

In particular, the investigators seized medical records and ordered a complex of forensic examinations.

The supervisory authorities were also interested in the messages.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Leningrad Region RT reported that they had begun an appropriate check, and the investigation of the criminal case initiated at the initiative of the Investigative Committee was placed "under special control."

"If there are grounds, the prosecutor's office will decide on the adoption of measures of the prosecutor's response," Margarita Shvetsova, senior assistant to the prosecutor of the Leningrad region for media relations, told RT.

Home operation

Initially, the information about the self-operated pensioner was posted on social networks by the paramedic and blogger Victoria Shutova.

She said that a 90-year-old grandmother suffering from cancer suffered from terrible pain and decided to take a desperate step when she did not receive any help from doctors.

“Granny went through the war and the blockade, restored the country from the ashes and at the end of her days fell ill with oncology, while young people can envy her bright mind.

And this very oncology gave her a complication <…> in [which] the quality of life suffers greatly.

It is impossible to walk, lie down and even find it difficult to breathe, ”explained Shutova on her Instagram.

According to the paramedic, doctors refused to timely carry out the operation necessary to alleviate the condition of the woman, allegedly referring to the congestion of hospitals due to the coronavirus.

“And the grandmother herself conducts laparocentesis surgery in order to alleviate the condition.

That is, he makes incisions with a thin knife along the anterior abdominal wall, in order to remove fluid, "the doctor said.

Photos of the suicide note that the pensioner left before the operation also appeared on the network - she was not sure that everything would be successful.

In the letter, the woman apologized to her relatives and explained that she was forced to take this step, because “it is very painful and difficult for her.”

Victoria Shutova, who made the story of a pensioner from Vyborg public, called on Russian doctors to help the terminally ill woman in blockade and help her get her into a hospice, where she could be provided with timely medical care necessary to alleviate her suffering.

This publication found a response: Shutova, in an interview with RT, said that thanks to the resonance, the grandmother was able to be assigned to a palliative care institution.

At the same time, the paramedic did not say which medical institution the pensioner was assigned to and how soon she would be able to get there.

The blockade's relatives are not commenting on the situation now - they asked the journalists not to bother them yet.

Victoria Shutova, who helps the family to cover the problem, assured RT that no other help is needed for the pensioner herself and her relatives.

She also expressed the hope that the woman will really be helped and she will no longer have to suffer from unbearable pain.

“Old people are the litmus test of society.

And if in peacetime the old people operate on themselves, this is a disaster, ”concluded the paramedic.