23 May 2008: Operation Hope – programme for children with hydrocephalus
 |
|
© UNICEF/2008 |
|
Zinenko's centre |
It is not easy to explain in a nutshell what “hydrocephalus” is. This word is even difficult to pronounce. It describes a condition where of excess water accumulates inside a child’s skull, which leads eventually to irreversible damage to the brain tissue and the nervous system. 90 per cent of children with hydrocephalus are prematurely born. Every year they increase in number.
10 years ago in Russia children with this diagnosis were not treated at all. They either died after several months, or they were sent to specialized orphanages, losing the very last hope of spending their childhood in their own families. Today these children recover well after surgery and can lead a normal life.
In 1994 Dmitry Zinenko, top brain surgeon at the Research Institute of Pediatric Science and Child Surgery, was the first in our country to apply surgical treatment to premature newborns with hydrocephalus. Dmitry Zinenko operates on babies in the neurosurgical department of the Children's Hospital #9. Hundreds of children have already been saved. The results of Dmitry’s work have broken stereotypes and have proved that hydrocephalus is not a death sentence, and that we can and should fight it.
Successful surgery is only the beginning of treatment and has to be followed by extensive rehabilitation. Otherwise problems may come back and it will be much harder to address them. Rehabilitation comprises massage, psychological treatment, specially adapted activities and exercises to develop hearing and speaking skills etc.
The rehabilitation centre founded by Mr Zinenko is crucial for the proper recovery of these children. The programme “Operation Hope” supports the work of this centre, which exists on private funds. Around 40 Moscow babies a year undergo rehabilitation at the centre. It’s an incredibly small number for such a huge city as Moscow. Statistics show that two or three hundred babies a year are born with hydrocephalus. This centre is the only one in Russia , so parents of sick children from all over the country come here to get counseling and advice.
The rehabilitation centre urgently needs to be expanded. To help more children new building needs to be rented and more specialists employed. Medical equipment is also needed. We are raising money to help equip Mr Zinenko’s centre. You can donate right now on our website or you can use other forms of payment. We thank you in advance for not being indifferent.
