RUTSHURU EPISODE.01
Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
“He sustained severe burns to his scalp, reaching the skull. That’s why he’s been hospitalised for so long.”
GENERIQUE
Rutshuru hospital is in North Kivu,
a region plagued by conflict
and the presence of numerous active armed groups.

Médecins Sans Frontières teams have worked in the hospital since 2005.
It is the only facility providing surgical and specialised care
in an area with a population of around 760,000 people.

Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
“You can do his dressing. He had the skin graft last week.”
“This little boy is 3. He was admitted to the hospital with burn injuries at the beginning of December [2018]. We did the final skin graft a week ago.”
Gentil has been hospitalised
in Rutshuru for more
than eight months



“Ok, that’s it.”
Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
“Rutshuru is the only fully functioning hospital. There’s no other hospital between here and Goma, so it provides medical care to a region extending from the borders with Rwanda and Uganda to the North Kivu mountains on the other side.”
The roads in the area are unsafe
because of the presence of armed groups.

This further isolates
The population living in this region.
Evariste
“I left Kirumba to go fishing on Lake Edward. The first time I made it back with no problem. But the second time, I was attacked by a crocodile.”
Doctor
The crocodile bit you, and then what happened?
Evariste
It shook me around for a while and then it let go of me.
On his arrival to the hospital,
Évariste was admitted into intensive care
Medref Willy
He was badly hurt. His spleen was damaged, several of his floating ribs were fractured and he sustained severe injuries to the abdominal wall.
Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
I removed the chest tube two days ago. How are you feeling? It’s still too soon to close the wound. We’ll continue and in two to three days we’ll suture to close the wound. OK, all good, it’s progressing well!
MSF teams respond to medical emergencies,
treat paediatric and malnutrition patients
and assist victims of sexual violence

Jean Rijs – MSF surgeon (Paris)
The majority of patients here have fractures requiring orthopaedic treatment. Most fractures are sustained in road accidents. We sometimes see bullet wounds linked to the violent context of North Kivu, with robberies or armed attacks on villages at night or in the fields.
A few days later...
Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
He’s had several skin grafts. The final one last week was to cover his scalp that was burnt all over. He’s well on the way to recovery. He’ll probably be able to leave next week because the grafts have been successful.
Medref Willy
The wounds are clean and they’re healing nicely. He’s getting back on his feet and, little by little, he’s recovering. We hope he’ll be able to leave within a few days and go back home to convalesce.
To be continued
Jean Rijs - MSF surgeon (Paris)
Some people get here 24, or even 48, hours after being injured because they come from mountainous areas on the other side of the Park. So, if they have open fractures, they’re often already infected. They’re really difficult to treat.