Archive for category: Newsletter

March 2016

Supported by Kylian our trusty Bulgarian technicians Angel and Lucie produced a total of 11 leg orthoses as well as several arch supports. Our two colleagues worked extremely efficiently, allowing Kylian time to continue their training. Both have made excellent progress and we are delighted that they are now able to produce leg orthoses without assistance. In future, we will be able to expand the range of devices produced on site by giving the Bulgarian technicians essential training during each visit, thus advancing our long-term mission.

A total of 67 children have been seen, many of whom have been fitted with devices. We had much medical work to do and, as usual, several new cases and children to be fitted with devices during our next visits.

We are also delighted to announce that Dr Gyurov has organised an introductory course on devices in orthopaedic technology, which will be held at our studio in Stara Zagora at the start of May. About 20 physiotherapists and several doctors have already signed up for the two-day course. We really hope that some of this group will be motivated to set up a device fitting facility in their respective towns, in order to increase awareness of this orthopaedic technique in Bulgaria.

September 2015

This week, Ketsia and Kilian assisted us with the technical part of our work in Bulgaria. With Angel’s help, they produced 11 orthoses.

On this visit, 65 children were given consultations and five were fitted with devices. This visit also marked a symbolic milestone: we have now conducted in-depth assessments of 500 children in orthopaedics. Demand from parents of disabled children continues to grow, as does our list of new cases awaiting consultation. Despite the infrequency of our visits to Bulgaria, we usually manage to see these children within two to three months of the initial consultation request.

Ketsia and Kilian will assist us once again on our next visit, which is scheduled for 17 – 23 November 2015.

March 2015

During this standard week, we examined 50 children and provided nine orthoses. Three new candidates for orthopaedic technician training spent the week with us, partly under the aegis of the Stara Zagora Community Donation Fund, the Bulgarian-Swiss project developed in collaboration with the Foundation. The three candidates are Lucie, one of Dr Gyurov’s employees, and two of the project candidates, Kamen and Netko. As the Foundation’s orthopaedic fitting activity was moderate, Kylian was able to put Angel’s impressive skills and autonomy in the production of orthoses to good use to provide the three candidates with theoretical and practical training.

There were fewer consultations than usual during the week due to the absence of certain children, due to illness, and so we were able to look into a dozen new cases to see if we could help them. Several of these cases will be fitted with orthopaedic equipment produced either by the Foundation itself or by Dr Gyurov’s team.

And finally we took the time to reflect on and discuss Dr Gyurov’s involvement and that of his company in the Swiss-Bulgarian collaboration project. We also discussed the idea of Dr Gyurov and his company using the Foundation’s workshop to develop an independent orthopaedic equipment activity. This would mean rental of the workshop to improve visibility and also meet the demand for orthopaedic equipment that has been growing steadily over the last few years and continues to do so.

The next visit will take place from 8 to 14 June 2015.

November 2014

It has been exactly seven years since the Swissclinical Foundation started its work in Bulgaria and the entire team is still just as enthusiastic as ever. Assisted by Dimitri and Ketsia, everyone has done an excellent job this week. Many ortheses have been supplied and countless consultations have taken place, including many new cases. The feedback from parents and children has been very positive.

The foundation’s excellent reputation is also attracting more and more professionals from the medical and orthopaedic fields: we once again enjoyed a visit from Dr Stamen Stalev (see September 2014 newsletter), in addition to visits from Angel and another of Dr Gyurov’s employees, who was particularly interested in orthopaedic equipment. We will benefit from his presence during our forthcoming stays and offer him the best training in cooperation with Dr Gyurov.

We were also visited by Mr Erkki Wollstein and his friend Arthur, who came to us from Armenia. Mr Wollstein contacted the foundation after finding out about our work from our website. He would like to get involved in our engagement in Bulgaria together with Arthur, an orthopaedic technician who works in orthopaedics on a regular basis in Armenia. As both are motivated by a strong humanitarian commitment, we are planning for Arthur to come and stay in Stara Zagora for three or six months to support us with our activities (equipment, technician training) and initiate classes in various universities. With his assistance, we could even organise an information day on orthopaedic treatment techniques. We think that it is important to promote these orthotic and prosthetic techniques since they are often unknown to the medical profession and the public. Following a period of long reflection and many discussions, we hope to make this planned commitment a reality in 2015.

The next visit will take place 20-25 January 2015.

June 2014

This week, Dimitri came to Bulgaria to represent the technical orthopaedic team. As usual, he was able to work with Angel, our Bulgarian candidate, who is continuing to perfect his autonomy and skill in making walking orthoses. Dimitri also found time to redo Geko’s orthoprosthesis, which had reached the end of its lifespan. It was a busy, active week with more than 60 children examined and/or treated; the waiting list continues to increase as unfortunately we are unable to fulfil all the requests from parents who want us to examine their children. Manuela manages this list faultlessly in order to try to prioritise the children who would benefit from orthopaedic care as quickly as possible.

Manuela and Bruno also met Dr Vassil Yablanski, head of the orthopaedic department at Tokuda Hospital Sofia, who gave them a very warm welcome. He was interested in hearing about our work in Bulgaria and is keen on a form of collaboration with us. The meeting was so exciting that we were immediately introduced to Dr Evgeni Vlaev, one of his colleagues in the orthopaedic department who has an interest in paediatric orthopaedics and neuro-orthopaedics. Dr Vlaev not only attended our meeting but also joined Bruno and Manuela the next day for the morning’s consultations in order to see the children. The interest that he showed in our work by his presence was very encouraging and bodes well for an effective collaboration in the long term. Tokuda Hospital has an excellent reputation in Sofia and benefits from the latest technical facilities in the areas of anaesthesiology, surgery and cardiology. Dr Yablanski has been able to develop his expertise in scoliosis surgery with the help of an American team from the SRS (Scoliosis Research Society) over a period of more than four years, yielding excellent results.

The possibility of collaboration with a team of doctors who specialise in paediatric orthopaedics in Bulgaria is certainly the key to the sustainability of our work in Bulgaria. We will therefore build on our relationship during our forthcoming stays in order to establish an indispensable, long-term collaboration.

Other good news concerns the competition the Foundation won thanks to Daniela’s support (Daniela is our regular correspondent in Stara Zagora). We are now able to benefit from funding of 400,000 Lev (approx. CHF 240,000) over the next four years as part of a cooperation project with the Community Donation Fund Stara Zagora Foundation. The aim of this collaboration is to set up a Bulgarian-Swiss orthopaedic workshop in order to combat the economic and social disparities within the ‘enlarged’ European Union.