Almost a year has passed since the publication of the documentary film "The Hornet’s Nest", in which relatives of deceased Odrex patients shared their truth about treatment at the Odesa clinic. According to them, it resulted in complications, enormous bills, and the deaths of their loved ones. Even before the film was released, its subjects contacted law enforcement authorities. The UNN investigated what stage the investigation and court proceedings have reached.
Seven years without an expert examination — the case concerning the death of Svitlana Huk’s husband
Svitlana Huk’s story began back in 2019. Her husband turned to Odrex with a thymus tumor. According to the widow, doctors convinced the family that surgery was necessary and that the treatment had positive prospects.
After the surgery, the man’s condition sharply deteriorated, and several days later he died in intensive care.
Svitlana said that the family paid about $42,500 for the treatment. After her husband’s death, the clinic filed a lawsuit demanding that the widow pay an additional approximately UAH 900,000. This concerns civil case No. 522/19678/19, filed by Dim Medytsyny LLC, operating under the Odrex brand, against Svitlana Huk to recover a debt under a medical services agreement.
For her part, Huk filed a lawsuit against Dim Medytsyny LLC. Her civil case No. 522/10741/22 concerns the protection of consumer rights in the provision of medical services, partial invalidity of the transaction, and compensation for material and moral damages.
In addition to the civil disputes with the clinic, criminal proceedings No. 12022162510001375, registered under Part 2 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, are also ongoing. As part of these proceedings, the investigation must establish the circumstances surrounding Svitlana Huk’s husband’s treatment and provide them with a criminal-law assessment. However, after seven years, the case has still not reached the key stage — a full forensic medical examination.
And this is despite the fact that the examination is supposed to answer whether the treatment strategy was chosen correctly, whether the surgery was justified, whether the doctors complied with medical standards, and whether there is a causal link between their actions and Svitlana’s husband’s death.
However, Huk has been unable to obtain such a conclusion for years. The case materials were sent to expert institutions repeatedly, but the examination was never carried out.
Kyiv twice explained its refusal to conduct the examination by citing the absence of a pathological autopsy and the impossibility of reliably establishing the cause of death. Among the reasons for its refusal, Lviv cited the absence of an approved list of paid services, as well as the fact that the entries in the inpatient medical record had been made in Russian, which, according to the bureau’s position, prevented their objective examination.
At that point, the plan was to translate the documentation into Ukrainian and send the materials to the experts again. However, as Svitlana Huk told UNN , it has still not been possible to obtain the necessary expert conclusion.
Even as part of the criminal proceedings, Kyiv refused to conduct the examination for the third time,
Olha Melai — questions about the documents and a blocked investigation
Olha Melai’s husband underwent chemotherapy at Odrex. Because he needed regular drug infusions, he was offered the installation of a special port — a procedure that clinic staff described as minimally invasive and uncomplicated. However, after the intervention, Ihor Melai ended up in intensive care in critical condition and later died. In total, the treatment and medications cost the family more than UAH 2.5 million.
After her husband’s death, Olha had questions about the medical documentation: according to her, the discharge summary contained practically no information either about the port insertion itself or about the consequences of the intervention. The widow contacted law enforcement authorities and handed investigators copies of documents confirming payment for the treatment, while the investigator said that the medical record was to be submitted for a forensic medical examination.
Melai contacted law enforcement. Based on her statement, criminal proceedings No. 42025163030000200 are being investigated under Part 3 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. She provided the investigators with copies of documents confirming payment for treatment, and the investigator said that he intended to submit the medical record for a forensic medical examination.
Not limiting herself to the criminal proceedings, Melai contacted the Ministry of Health and asked it to verify the medical records concerning her husband’s treatment at Odrex for discrepancies and possible falsification. The Ministry instructed the Health Department of the Odesa Regional Military Administration to conduct a clinical and expert assessment; however, the inspection could not be carried out. The Department explained that the Odrex clinic had not provided the patient’s medical documentation, citing its seizure by law enforcement as part of the criminal proceedings.
After that, Melai herself contacted the police, asking them to grant the Department access to the seized materials. At the same time, she submitted requests to the National Health Service of Ukraine and the eHealth system to verify the data concerning her husband’s treatment and his electronic medical records.
Thus, almost a year after the criminal proceedings were opened, the question of what exactly happened during Ihor Melai’s treatment and whether any violations occurred still remains without a final answer.
Khrystyna Totkailo’s father was promised that his voice would be preserved
In August 2024, Khrystyna Totkailo learned that her father had cancer. The family lives in Kyiv, so they initially contacted Feofaniya Hospital. According to Khrystyna, after a consultation, the doctors concluded that aggressive chemotherapy before radical surgery was too risky in his case.
According to Khrystyna, surgeon Ihor Bielotserkovskyi was also present at that consultation. He was the one who suggested that the family contact the Odesa-based Odrex clinic, where his wife, oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, worked. Khrystyna recalls that the family was told that this was where her father could receive treatment in a way that would preserve his larynx and voice.
At Odrex, the man was prescribed a five-day course of chemotherapy, with another course planned. He was also fitted with a feeding gastrostomy. Khrystyna said that she repeatedly asked staff to monitor its condition and change the dressings, but, according to her, there was no proper care for several days. Before he was discharged, it was discovered that a through-and-through opening had formed in the area of the gastrostomy.
After returning to Kyiv, her father’s condition deteriorated sharply: his kidneys began to fail, and wounds appeared in his mouth. Khrystyna claims that she did not receive clear answers to her questions about the prescribed treatment and her father’s condition.
The family paid more than UAH 250,000 for the treatment. It was not possible to save her father—he died. After his death, Khrystyna contacted law enforcement.
After his death, Khrystyna contacted law enforcement. Based on her statement, criminal proceedings No. 42025163030000197 are being investigated.
Recently, I was informed that the investigator in the case had been changed and that the documents had been sent for examination. For now, this is all the information I have about the progress of the proceedings. It is difficult for me to obtain more detailed information because I am in Kyiv, while the investigation is being conducted in Odesa,
Several years have already passed, yet the families still have not received definitive answers. The investigations have been accompanied by delays, changes of investigators, and difficulties in carrying out examinations. At the same time, the relatives of deceased Odrex patients continue to fight for the right to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones.