Svitlana Huk's story is a tale of hope that turned into a years-long struggle for truth. In 2019, her husband, who had undergone difficult cancer treatment abroad, sought consultation and surgery at the private Odesa clinic Odrex. According to Svitlana, doctors assured the family that the intervention was possible and the chances of success were high – her husband would be able to return to a normal life. But after the operation, the patient's condition sharply deteriorated, and he died.
In an interview with UNN, Svitlana Huk meticulously, step by step, reconstructs the events: from diagnosis and preparation for surgery to her husband's death, attempts to achieve an investigation, and court proceedings. This is a story of how a family, seeking help, found themselves in a situation where, in Svitlana's conviction, financial interests became more important than human life.
– Svitlana, let's start from the very beginning. When and under what circumstances did you learn about your husband's diagnosis?
– In 2018, my husband was diagnosed with a thymoma, a tumor of the thymus gland. In June 2018, he underwent surgery in Israel. After that, he received 27 radiation treatments and 6 courses of chemotherapy there. The last course of chemotherapy ended in April 2019.
Formally, he was discharged: they gave him documents, everything was written in Hebrew. But at the same time, his quality of life and well-being did not improve after the treatment. And he decided to seek consultation again – this time in Ukraine.
In June 2019, we contacted "Odrex" with all medical documents and a complete medical history. We explained in detail what and where had been done, what medications had been used, emphasized that the last course of chemotherapy was only two months ago, and named the specific, strong medications.
At "Odrex," my husband underwent additional examinations. The doctors were very optimistic. We were promised that the operation was possible and the chances of success were high. My husband was consulted and managed by cardiac surgeon Dmytro Viktorovych Turliuk. He also performed the surgery. The head of the intensive care unit, Pavloskyi Maksym Eduardovych, was also present. Turliuk was very optimistic, saying that there were all chances to return to a normal, full life. He even said a phrase that will forever remain in my memory: "We will even write a book about you."
– So, Odrex essentially gave you guarantees?
– Yes. Of course, they casually mentioned that any surgical intervention could have risks. But the main emphasis was on the fact that the operation was technically possible, and that everything would be successful and good.
In addition, Turliuk said that during the operation, transplantation of heart fragments and a special biomaterial, which is not produced in Ukraine, would be required – it needed to be purchased in Belarus. He also said that an oncologist from Belarus, Serhii Yeskov, would be invited for this purpose.
For the purchase of biomaterial and the involvement of this doctor, we separately handed over $2500 in cash – directly in the office, from hand to hand to Turliuk. We did not receive any receipts or documents.
– Was the total cost of treatment known in advance?
– The amounts kept changing. First, they named one, then another, then a third. In the end, it was approximately $42,500. Manager Halyna Pavlivna Bilous explained that this amount included possible complications and promised that upon discharge, there would be a recalculation, and the remainder would be returned.
– How did the preparation and the operation itself proceed?
– On July 11, 2019, my husband paid for the operation and all related services. We have the receipts, but they simply state "medical services" and amounts – without specifying the particular services. Later, I noticed that the receipts were signed with different dates.
On July 12, my husband was hospitalized. I was with him all day. Later, in court, I saw a record in the medical documents stating that on July 12, he allegedly received 8 blood transfusions. This shocked me – I was with him all day, and there were no transfusions.
The operation took place early in the morning on July 13. I accompanied my husband to the operating room. Throughout the day, I called constantly – every two hours. Only closer to midnight was I told that the operation was over, and my husband was in intensive care.
- When did you realize something was wrong?
– On the morning of July 14, I came to the intensive care unit. This was the only time I saw my husband in a relatively adequate state. He recognized me but couldn't speak – he was on an oxygen mask.
– What did the doctors tell you immediately after the operation?
- Dr. Turliuk met me. I asked about my husband's condition. And at that moment, Turliuk announced that the operation had been performed and, overall, was successful.
He said: "We did everything. We performed a heart fragment transplant. The tumor was removed. Everything was cleaned, everything is fine."
But then he added that the operation did not go as planned. Initially, they were going to make an incision from the side, between the ribs - a more gentle option. But, according to him, "something didn't work out," and they had to perform a full thoracotomy, that is, completely open my husband's chest.
At the same time, he emphasized: "Technically, everything is fine, everything is wonderful, everything is good."
I communicated with my husband as much as possible. He couldn't speak – he was on an oxygen mask. We communicated with our eyes, with gestures. Then I left. Throughout the day, I called the clinic. They told me that everything seemed normal, everything was fine. They said that he even ate and drank water.
In the evening of the same day, it was around six or seven o'clock, when I called again, I was told that his urea was rising, creatinine was increasing, and kidney indicators were worsening.
I was informed that he might be transferred to an artificial kidney machine today. But they added: "Don't worry, this is normal practice, nothing serious, it's normal."
- What happened next?
– And the very next day, July 15, the manager – Bilous Halyna Pavlivna – started calling me.
Before the operation, my husband handled all organizational matters and conversations with her. She also announced the cost of the operation. And this cost constantly changed: first, they named one amount, then another, then a third.
Ultimately, a sum equivalent to about $40,000 was named. My husband then asked: "Wait, initially, a completely different amount was discussed."
To which Bilous said that the operation was complex and this amount included the possibility of complications. She said, "Everything should go well, but if something suddenly goes wrong, the money is already allocated, and upon discharge, we will recalculate and return the rest." This was said before the operation.
– What changed on July 15?
On July 15, they started calling me with panic in their voices. Bilous said that my husband's condition was worsening, and lung problems had begun. It was very clear from her voice that she was nervous.
She started asking what chemotherapy drugs he had been prescribed. I said: "All the names of the drugs were told to you before the operation, it was emphasized that the last course was only two months ago, and that the drugs were strong."
I named these two drugs. After that, Bilous said that money was needed.
I replied: "Wait, a very large sum was paid." To which she said that the amount allocated for the development of complications had already been exhausted. That is, in two days, this money somehow "evaporated." And starting from July 15, I received calls several times a day, every day, demanding money.
- How did the doctors communicate with you at this moment?
– The situation changed dramatically. They started talking to me completely differently. To my questions about what was happening to my husband, they now answered coldly. Moreover, they told me that his lungs were failing, and the ventilator was not coping. But this came from the manager Bilous, not the doctors. She also said that an ECMO machine was needed (editor's note: this is a method of temporary life support for severe respiratory or heart failure, where the machine takes blood from the body, saturates it with oxygen, and returns it, essentially replacing the work of the lungs or heart; ECMO is used only in critical conditions), that it was not available in Odesa, not available at the Odrex clinic, and had to be delivered from Kyiv.
I said: "You promised that everything would be fine with my husband. Do everything necessary, save my husband." They told me: "Okay, we will connect ECMO."
Later, when I studied the medical documentation, I found no confirmation that the ECMO machine was actually delivered from Kyiv.
There were no contracts, no acts, no delivery documents, no papers on operation, no cost of using this device. Nothing.
At the same time, the bill included 240,000 hryvnias, which at that time was about 10,000 dollars - for ECMO, without any supporting documents.
– Did you seek a second medical opinion?
Yes, but these were not foreign specialists. After my husband's death, when I was studying the medical documentation, I privately consulted oncologists.
And when they looked at the documents, they told me that the medical documentation indicated a diagnosis according to the international classification – inoperable fourth stage of oncological disease.
They told me directly: my husband should under no circumstances have been taken to the operating table.
They said that the operation and anesthesia with a large amount of oxygen provoked multiple organ failure – and, roughly speaking, the operation killed him.
– What was your husband's condition in intensive care?
– Each time I saw, excuse the expression, some incomprehensible substance. A large body, a huge head. It was cold in the room, and hot air was being pumped under the body. I didn't understand what was happening at all. They told me: "So he doesn't freeze."
When I asked what they had done to my husband and why he looked like that, Pavloskyi Maksym Eduardovych told me: "If you are not satisfied with something, you can take your husband and transfer him to any other clinic. He is completely transportable."
- Later, your husband had a cardiac arrest, correct?
– Yes. I was not informed that my husband had a cardiac arrest between July 15 and 16. I only found out about it later when I gained access to medical documents through court proceedings. Only then did I see that he had a cardiac arrest. They didn't tell me about it at all.
I suspect that from that moment on, my husband's body was kept on machines for the purpose of further extorting money.
- What did the pressure from the clinic look like?
– I went to the hospital several times a day. They let me in without problems. But each time the same thing happened: as soon as I arrived, the medical director Dmytro Havrychenko immediately appeared, then the second one – Shcherbakov – ran in.
And they both started demanding payment for my husband's body's stay in the clinic. Every day, manager Bilous gave me papers with amounts. The amounts were insane. The maximum was 99 thousand hryvnias per day. Moreover, they calculated the debt retroactively – from July 13, the day of the operation.
– Did you contact the general director?
– Yes. With all these questions, I contacted the general director – Tigran Arutyunyan. I said: "Look how much money they took from us. Look what you did to my husband. I have nothing left to pay."
In response, I heard the same thing: "You must pay for medical services."
And then he told me to my face: "We will deprive you of your houses, apartments, dachas. If you don't have money, give the documents for the apartment to our lawyers, they will arrange everything and sell it." I consider this extortion. These were direct threats.
- What happened after your husband's death?
– On the morning of July 24, I received a call informing me that my husband had died. My parents and I arrived at the clinic, but no one came out to us for a very long time.
Manager Bilous kept repeating only one thing: "You must pay the debt."
They kept us there for, probably, half a day. Then they gave me a piece of paper where, on one sheet, there was both a waiver of claims and a waiver of autopsy. I was in a terrible state and signed it.
An hour later, I received a call from the agent of the funeral home "Anubis" – Yevhen Konstandaki. He already knew about my husband's death and my phone number.
– Did you contact law enforcement agencies?
– Yes. After some time, when I had somewhat recovered from the shock, I managed to open a criminal case. This was in December 2022. But since then, the investigation has practically stalled. They told me this to my face. The first investigator – Naidenova – told me: "I am working on your case in my free time from my main job," and then added that no one would deal with the clinic's case because "all the management is being treated at Odrex."
I insisted on investigative actions, access to medical documentation. The investigator filed a petition, but it was so carelessly drafted that the investigating judge did not grant it. I had to participate myself in preparing a repeated petition with a detailed description of all circumstances.
- Were medical examinations conducted?
– Yes. At my civil suit, the court ordered medical examinations. The first examination was conducted in Odesa. It was conducted with numerous violations.
The specialists involved in the examination were not members of the expert commission, except for one oncologist. Despite this, their conclusions formed the basis of the final report.
In addition, the expert commission arbitrarily changed the wording of the questions defined by the court – both the scope and the essence of the questions changed. This suggests that the outcome of the examination was predetermined and not in my favor.
– Why do you consider the examination questionable?
– Firstly, the clinic's medical documentation directly states the diagnosis – inoperable fourth stage of oncological disease. Secondly, the oncologist in the examination's conclusions did not answer about the advisability of the operation, citing the absence of CT data. At the same time, the clinic itself did not provide a full package of documents, although they had them. The examination lasted a year and a half, but the commission never requested additional materials through the court, although it had the right to do so. All documentation and examinations were in my hands.
– Was there an attempt at a repeated examination?
– Yes. We managed to get a repeated examination appointed in Kyiv. We sent a full package of documents, all discs, examinations, translations of Israeli medical documents. However, Kyiv returned the materials twice.
The first time – with a formal written refusal, stating that the examination was impossible due to the absence of autopsy results. The second time – indicating that the result would be unreliable, as I had signed a waiver of autopsy. At the same time, a logical question arises: why did Odesa conduct an examination without an autopsy, and Kyiv refused?
photos of documents provided to the editorial office by Svitlana Huk
Of all the questions, only one concerns the cause of death, and it indeed hinges on the autopsy. All other questions – the correctness of treatment prescription, the justification of the operation, the actions of doctors – can be investigated documentarily.
I believe that the clinic again used its leverage, because the results of the examination would not have been in their favor.
– Are there any questions regarding the death documents?
- Yes, and serious ones. The death certificate bears the signature of Dr. Davydenko, who is listed as my husband's doctor. I do not know this doctor and have never communicated with her. I only communicated with Turliuk and Pavloskyi. At the same time, the certificate lists sepsis and pneumonia first, and malignant neoplasm only at the end, without clarification. I have all these documents, and they raise serious doubts for me.
– What gives you the strength to continue the fight?
– I don't know where the strength comes from. I just have to see this through so that my husband's death is not in vain. I'm not afraid anymore. And I want to warn everyone: under no circumstances should you go to this medical "house of death." It's not about medicine. It's a business built on human pain, grief, and deaths.
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