"All medical manipulations are associated with risk"

Russian academicians and doctors sent a letter to Vladimir Putin in defense of Elena Misyurina

Representatives of the medical community and patient organizations sent an open letter to President of Russia Vladimir Putin in defense of Elena Misurina, a hematologist who was sentenced on January 22 to the two years of the colony due to the death of the patient. Now Misyurin is free: against the backdrop of a large -scale public campaign in defense of the doctor, the Moscow City Court freed her from the pre -trial detention center before the sentence entered into force, and the prosecutor's office even asked to cancel the sentence . The letter, which was signed by more than six and a half thousand workers of medicine and patients, as well as several academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, speaks of the danger of pursuit of doctors “for complications that cannot be prevented” and questioned by the examination, on the basis of which Misurin was convicted. The collection of signatures was organized by the initiative group of the Moscow City Clinical Hospital No. 52, where the doctor works. "Medusa" publishes the text of the letter.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

We are deeply shocked by the events that occurred with our colleague, hematologist Misyurina Elena Nikolaevna. The doctor is known as a professional, an honest and decent person who has always put the patient’s interests in the first place.

Dr. Misyurina E. N. was sentenced to two years in prison with a sentence in a general regime for causing death to the patient in 2013. According to investigators, the doctor was provided with medical care that did not meet the safety requirements (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Dr. Misyurina E. N. conducted a routine diagnostic manipulation (trepanobiopsy) of a seriously ill patient with a malignant disease of the blood system. There were no complications after the study, the patient left the clinic on his own. After 12 hours, the patient entered another hospital with suspicion of appendicitis, underwent surgery and died on the fourth day.

The key evidence of guilt was the examination based on the conclusion of the clinic pathologist, where the operation was performed. In this case, the autopsy was carried out without the presence of an appropriate license; The interpretation of the actions of the hospital staff in which death occurred was not given.

In medical practice, about 10 cases of bleeding are described during this manipulation, which in no case served as a direct cause of death. It is well known that all medical manipulations are associated with a certain risk.

The criminal prosecution of doctors for complications that could not be prevented may lead to the fact that doctors would be afraid to conduct medical manipulations, associated even with minimal risk. We already know cases of leaving the profession of experienced doctors in connection with fear to be under investigation for the performance of their daily duties.

We ask you to free Dr. Misyurin E. N. and appoint a second examination with the involvement of leading practicing Russian experts.

Among the signed outstanding figures of Russian medicine <...>, as well as the heads of patient and medical organizations and thousands of doctors and patients.

The letter was signed by 6629 people, including Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Andrei Vorobyov; Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Mark Kurtzer, Director of the Research Institute of Transplantology and Artificial bodies, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Gauthier, Director of the Russian Scientific Center for Surgery named after Academician Petrovsky, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Belov, Director of the Vishnevsky Institute of Vishnevsky Amiran Revishvili.

Amendment. Initially, the text stated that the letter was signed by the director of the Moscow Scientific Clinical Center, the corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Khotkov and the vice-rector of the Moscow State Medical and Dental Minus, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Maev. In reality, this is not so. The Medusa editors apologize for the mistake made.