'They took shrapnel from my heart' – the magnets saving lives in Ukraine
“他们从我的心中弹起” - 乌克兰的磁铁挽救生命
2 days ago Share Save Anastasiya Gribanova BBC Ukrainian Service, Kyiv Scarlett Barter BBC World Service Share Save
2天前,Share Save Save Anastasiya Gribanova BBC乌克兰服务部
Kevin McGregor / BBC Ukrainian serviceman Serhiy Melnyk holds the piece of shrapnel that was once lodged in his heart
凯文·麦格雷戈(Kevin McGregor) / BBC乌克兰军人赛里亚·梅尔尼克(Serhiy Melnyk
From his pocket, Serhiy Melnyk pulls out a small rusty shard, wrapped neatly in paper. He holds it up."It grazed my kidney, pierced my lung, and my heart," says the Ukrainian serviceman quietly. Traces of dried blood are still visible on the shrapnel from a Russian drone that became lodged in his heart while he was fighting in eastern Ukraine."I didn't even realise what it was at first — I thought I was just short of breath under my body armour," he says."They had to extract shrapnel out of my heart." With the rise of drone warfare in Ukraine, these injuries are becoming more common. Drones often carry weapons and materials which fragment and cause more complex shrapnel wounds. According to Ukrainian military medics, shrapnel wounds now make up to 80% of battlefield trauma. Untreated, Serhiy's injury would have been fatal."The fragment was as sharp as a blade. Doctors said it was a large piece, and that I was lucky to survive," he says reflectively. But it wasn't just luck that saved him, it was a new piece of medical technology. A magnetic extractor.
Serhiy Melnyk从口袋里掏出一个小生锈的碎片,整齐地包裹在纸上。他举起它。这位乌克兰军人静静地说:“这使我的肾脏掠过,刺穿了我的肺和我的心。”在俄罗斯东部在乌克兰东部战斗时,俄罗斯无人机的弹片中仍然可以看到干血的痕迹。他说:“起初我什至没有意识到这是什么 - 我以为我的身体装甲呼吸不足。”“他们必须从我心中提取弹片。”随着乌克兰无人机战争的兴起,这些伤害变得越来越普遍。无人机经常携带武器和材料,这些武器和材料碎裂并导致更复杂的弹片伤口。根据乌克兰军事医务人员的说法,现在弹片伤口占战场创伤的80%。未经治疗的塞里(Serhiy)受伤将是致命的。他反思地说:“碎片就像刀片一样锋利。但这不仅是拯救他的运气,这是一项新的医疗技术。磁提取器。
Kevin McGregor / BBC Serhiy Maksymenko's team removed the shrapnel from Serhiy's heart
Kevin McGregor / BBC Serhiy Maksymenko的团队从Serhiy的心中删除了弹片
'I make a small incision and insert the magnet'
“我做一个小切口并插入磁铁”
Cardiovascular surgeon Serhiy Maksymenko shows footage of the metal fragment trapped in Serhiy's beating heart before it is delicately removed by a thin magnet-tipped device."You don't have to make large cuts in the heart," explains Dr Maksymenko."I just make a small incision, insert the magnet, and it pulls the shrapnel out." In just one year, Doctor Maksymenko's team has performed over 70 successful heart operations with the device, which has changed the face of front-line medicine in Ukraine. The development of these extractors came after front-line medics highlighted the urgent need for a safe, fast, minimally invasive way to remove shrapnel. Oleh Bykov - who used to work as a lawyer - drove this development. Since 2014 he has been supporting the army as a volunteer. He met medics on the front line and from his conversations the magnetic extractors were created. The concept isn't new. Magnets were used for removing metal from wounds as far back as the Crimean War in the 1850s. But Oleh's team modernised the approach, creating flexible models for abdominal surgery, micro-extractors for delicate work, and high-strength tools for bones. Operations have become more precise and less invasive. The magnet can be run along the surface of a wound to draw fragments out. Surgeons then make a small incision and the piece is removed. Holding a slim pen-shaped tool, Oleh demonstrates its power by lifting a sledgehammer with the magnetic tip.
心血管外科医生Serhiy Maksymenko显示了被困在Serhiy跳动心脏中的金属碎片的镜头,然后用薄磁体尖头的设备将其精巧地清除。Maksymenko博士解释说:“您不必在心脏中进行大量切割。”“我只是做一个小切口,插入磁铁,然后将弹片拉出。”在短短的一年内,Maksymenko医生的团队通过该设备进行了70多次成功的心脏操作,这改变了乌克兰的前线药物的面貌。这些提取器的开发是在一线医务人员强调的,迫切需要采取安全,快速,微创的方法来消除弹片。曾经担任律师的Oleh Bykov推动了这一发展。自2014年以来,他一直以志愿者为支持。他在前线遇到了医务人员,从他的对话中创建了磁性提取器。这个概念并不新。磁铁被用来从1850年代的克里米亚战争中去除伤口的金属。但是Oleh的团队对该方法进行了现代化的现代化,为腹部手术,微妙工作的微型提取器和骨骼高强度工具创造了灵活的模型。操作变得更加精确,侵入性较小。磁铁可以沿伤口表面运行以将碎片拔出。然后,外科医生做一个小切口,并切除了碎片。Oleh拿着纤细的笔形工具,通过用磁性尖端举起大锤来展示其力量。
Kevin McGregor / BBC The magnets are powerful enough to lift a sledgehammer
凯文·麦格雷戈(Kevin McGregor) / bbc磁铁足够强大,可以举起大锤
His work has been commended by other war medics including David Nott, a veteran of war zones around the world."In war, things get developed which would never have been thought of in civilian life," he says. Fragmentation wounds have increased due to the changing face of war, and because they take a long time to find he believes this device could be a game changer. He says looking for shrapnel in patients is like"looking for a needle in a haystack"- it is not always successful and delays treatment of other casualties. Searching for fragments manually can be dangerous and requires bigger incisions that can cause more bleeding –"so to be able just to simply find them using a magnet is ingenious."
他的工作得到了其他战争医生的赞扬,包括世界各地的战区资深人士戴维·诺特(David Nott)。他说:“在战争中,事情得到了发展,这些事物在平民生活中从未想过。”由于战争的面貌变化,碎裂伤口增加了,并且因为他们花了很长时间才能发现他认为这种设备可能会改变游戏规则。他说,在患者中寻找弹片就像“在干草堆中寻找针头” - 并不总是成功的,并且会延迟对其他伤亡的治疗。手动搜索碎片可能很危险,需要更大的切口,这可能会导致更多的出血 - “因此,只需使用磁铁即可找到它们是巧妙的。”
Dnipro cardiac center The magnetic extractor that removed the shrapnel from Serhiy's heart
Dnipro心脏中心的磁性提取器,从Serhiy的心脏中去除弹片
What began as a field tool has now been rolled out across Ukraine, with 3,000 units distributed to hospitals and front-line medics, like Andriy Alban who says he has come to rely on the device. He often works while under fire, in trenches or makeshift outdoor clinics, and sometimes without local anaesthetic."My job is to save lives - bandage wounds and get soldiers evacuated," he says. There has been no official certification of the magnetic extractor. The Ukrainian Health Ministry says medical devices must comply fully with technical regulations. However, in exceptional cases, such as martial law or a state of emergency, the use of uncertified devices is allowed to meet the needs of the military and security forces. At the height of war, there's no time for red tape, mastermind Oleh explains."These devices save lives. If someone thinks my actions are a crime, I'll take responsibility. I'm even prepared to go to jail if it comes to that. But then all the doctors who use these devices should be incarcerated too," he adds half jokingly. David Nott agrees that certification is not a top priority for now and believes the device could prove helpful in other war zones such as Gaza."In war, it's not really necessary. You only do the things which are important to save lives." Back in Lviv, Serhiy's wife Yulia is just grateful her husband survived his injury."I just want to praise those people who invented this extractor," she says tearfully."Thanks to them, my husband is alive."
最初的现场工具现在已经在乌克兰推出,将3,000辆分发给了医院和前线医务人员,例如安德里·阿尔本(Andriy Alban),他说他已经依靠该设备。他经常在大火时,在战es或临时户外诊所工作,有时没有局部麻醉。他说:“我的工作是挽救生命 - 绷带伤口并撤离士兵。”磁提取器没有官方认证。乌克兰卫生部表示,医疗设备必须完全遵守技术法规。但是,在特殊情况下,例如戒严或紧急状态,允许使用未认证的设备来满足军事和安全部队的需求。策划者Oleh解释说,在战争高峰期,没有时间进行繁文tape节。“这些设备可以挽救生命。如果有人认为我的行为是犯罪,我会承担责任。如果要这样做,我什至准备入狱。但是,所有使用这些设备的医生也应该被监禁。”他开玩笑地补充说。戴维·诺特(David Nott)同意,认证目前还不是重中之重,并认为该设备在加沙等其他战争区域中可能会有所帮助。“在战争中,这并不是真正的必要。您只做挽救生命重要的事情。”回到利维夫(Lviv),塞里(Serhiy)的妻子尤利娅(Yulia)只是感激她的丈夫在伤病中幸存下来。她泪流满面地说:“我只想赞美那些发明这种提取器的人。”“感谢他们,我丈夫还活着。”