Instead of recovery, dangerous infections: Odrex patients face severe postoperative complications

The number of victims of Odrex is steadily growing. Patients and relatives of those who suffered from treatment there are more boldly sharing their stories. Their main motivation is to achieve justice and protect others from a possible tragedy, which, according to them, may await a patient within the walls of this private hospital. Read about what can happen to a person who entrusts their health to the "Odrex" clinic in the UNN material. 

The story, which almost ended in tragedy, began with a hip replacement surgery at the Odrex clinic. According to the victim's daughter, who chose to remain anonymous, her mother broke her femoral neck, so it was decided to replace the hip joint. The operation at Odrex cost 220,000 UAH and, as the family thought immediately after its completion, was successful. 

The patient was sent home after the operation, but her condition did not stabilize, but rather worsened. As her daughter told "Fair Journalist", the postoperative sutures did not heal and intensely discharged a pus-like fluid. The patient's daughter informed the doctor about the situation: she sent photos, described details, and asked if this was normal. After 2 months, when the doctor finally invited them with her mother for an examination, the study revealed a serious infection in the woman. So, the patient underwent a second operation. As the victim's daughter said, the doctors removed the prosthesis, treated it, and reinstalled it. Although, as leading orthopedic institutes note, an infectious lesion requires replacing the implant with another, temporary one, until the infection is overcome. Therefore, the victim's daughter called such actions of Odrex doctors a violation of treatment standards. 

Regarding the mysterious infection that inexplicably appeared in the Odrex patient, it turned out to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This bacterium, a sign of nosocomial infection, is transmitted through contaminated water, medical equipment, and dirty hands of medical personnel. It was the infection with this bacterium at the Odrex clinic that led to the patient having to undergo a second operation and a significant deterioration in her health. In total, the second stage of treatment at Odrex took 52 days and cost the family approximately 600,000 UAH. 

When it turned out that the daughter did not have money to pay for her mother's repeated treatment, as she did not expect either an infection, or a repeated operation, or an extended period of her mother's treatment in the clinic - "Odrex" sued her. 

And although during a personal meeting, the medical director of the Odrex clinic, Dmytro Havrychenko, told the victim's daughter about the infection, it was not mentioned in the medical history. Moreover, Havrychenko, according to the victim's daughter, admitted that what happened to her mother was a mistake by the clinic's doctors.

However, the story of patient infection during surgery at Odrex is far from the first and, unfortunately, not the only one. Cases of infection right on the operating table occur with alarming regularity in the stories of victims. This may indicate that these are not isolated medical errors, but a systemic lack of infection control in the private hospital "Odrex". 

Volodymyr came to Odrex without signs of a serious condition. He felt weakness that required diagnosis. After the examination, he was told that the situation was allegedly critical and the man needed immediate surgery. He agreed, trusting the doctors. The operation was performed without delay.

The very next day, the patient's wife, Iryna, was shown an X-ray: her husband's lungs were affected by 85%. Due to a rapid deterioration in breathing and increasing shortness of breath, doctors decided to put Volodymyr into a medically induced coma. Later, the clinic reported that the sharp lung damage was caused by an infection with the bacterium Serratia marcescens.

Important! The bacterium Serratia marcescens is quite specific, does not live in the atmosphere, and is not transmitted by airborne droplets. It can be contracted mainly through dirty hands of medical personnel, intubation tubes, catheters, endoscopic instruments, other invasive systems, as well as through non-sterile solutions or medical materials in case of violation of storage rules. This pathogen is a classic marker of nosocomial infection that occurs under conditions of violation of infection control. 

Iryna repeatedly asked how the dangerous pathogen could have entered her husband's body? In response, she only heard from the doctors: "This is intensive care. You can catch anything here." Such words may indicate that the conditions of Odrex's intensive care unit do not comply with the licensing requirements for medical facilities. 

Volodymyr spent several weeks in a medically induced coma, losing about 15 kg of mostly muscle mass. Due to probable unsanitary conditions at Odrex, he effectively found himself "chained" to machines – although the reason for seeking hospital care did not involve prolonged treatment, resuscitation measures, or a medically induced coma. Instead of a short hospitalization or outpatient treatment, the man spent almost a month in the clinic, and the family was forced to pay huge bills. When the funds ran out, according to Iryna, the doctor suggested "turning off the lights if there's nothing left to pay."

Volodymyr miraculously survived. However, there is no mention of Serratia marcescens infection in the patient's discharge summary – as if it never existed. 

The similarity of the situation may indicate that for the Odrex clinic, patient infection with specific bacteria during surgery is rather the norm than an exception to the rules. In addition, as relatives of the victims testify, the Odesa private clinic in both cases concealed the fact of infection in official documents, not mentioning a word about bacteria in the medical histories of its patients. This, in essence, may be a sign of falsification of medical documentation.

Documentary film about Odrex victims "Wasp's Nest" 

Even more stories of victims of the Odrex clinic are shown in the documentary film "Wasp's Nest". Regardless of the diagnosis, patients of the "Odrex" clinic fell into the same scenario: first - optimistic promises, then - sudden "complications", increased bills, pressure, demands, and threats from the clinic's administration.  

Thus, Svitlana Huk describes how, after the operation, her husband was on the verge of life and death, and his care turned into endless bills. The woman claims that the clinic kept her husband's body on machines even after clinical death, trying to increase the payment for his stay in the hospital. And the clinic also sued her after she could not pay.

The film also features the story of the Totkailo family, told by the deceased's daughter – her father underwent a course of aggressive chemotherapy at Odrex, which was opposed by a council of doctors in Kyiv. After returning home, her father's condition sharply worsened, and Khrystyna's appeals to Odrex doctors ended with the words: "Today is a day off. Call on Monday." Khrystyna's father died, and she is convinced that it was the contraindicated chemotherapy, negligence, and indifference in the private hospital that proved fatal. 

Death of Adnan Kivan during treatment at Odrex

An avalanche of new stories from victims and relatives of those who can no longer speak for themselves demonstrates that deaths and complications in patients at "Odrex" due to possible medical negligence are not uncommon. This looks like systematic violations, which, unfortunately, are the norm. 

However, society still hopes for the restoration of justice. The Ukrainian medical system is focused on the so-called "Odrex case." On the one hand, law enforcement officers, 2 criminal proceedings against doctors in the case of the death of patient Adnan Kivan, an extraordinary inspection by the Ministry of Health of the licensing conditions of "Dim Medytsyny" LLC – under which the Odrex brand operated during the developer's death, support for the need to inspect the clinic from public figures and journalists. On the other hand – a quick change of licenses on the official website of the Odrex clinic and statements by lawyers about alleged "pressure on business," which have nothing to do with patient deaths. Only time will tell whether the Ukrainian medical and law enforcement systems will be able to find truth and justice.