Hackensack University Medical Center Honors Survivors and Care Teams at 2019 Trauma Survivor Celebration   

Hackensack University Medical Center Honors Survivors and Care Teams at 2019 Trauma Survivor Celebration

November 20, 2019

Growing up in Russia, Svetlana Fakhroutdinov, 48, remembers enjoying ice skating, but also having to borrow other people's skates. It wasn't until she was 31 and living in New Jersey that she decided to sign up both herself and her daughter, Sasha, for ice skating lessons. Svetlana was a natural, taking to turns and jumps with ease — so much so that she was teaching skating and coaching other skaters just a few years later at the Ice House rink in Hackensack. So when she was hit by a car on July 1, 2019, severely damaging her left leg, her first thoughts were: Will I lose my leg? And will I ever skate again? The expert trauma team at Hackensack University Medical Center not only saved her leg, but are saving her dream.

Svetlana shared her story at Hackensack University Medical Center's Trauma Survivor Celebration, hosted by Joseph M. Sanzari at the Stony Hill Inn on November 20. The event raised over $65,000 for Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation's Trauma Fund, which supports ground-breaking research, innovative treatments for patients, and events and resources for trauma survivors and their families. The advanced care that Svetlana received was made possible by advances made in trauma research.

"Hackensack University Medical Center is a Level II Regional Trauma Center, meaning we provide definitive care for trauma patients, regardless of the severity of their injuries," said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, President of Hackensack University Medical Center. The hospital is Bergen County's only Level II Trauma Center and one of just ten designated trauma centers in the state. "Tonight is a celebration," he continued. "We're here to celebrate the success of all our trauma survivors — your endurance, your persistence to heal — the dedication of our inspiring trauma team, and all of the people who helped our survivors get here."

"Globally, trauma deaths are the fourth largest cause of all human fatalities, with approximately 1.2 million deaths per year," said Sanjeev Kaul, M.D., Chief, Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care and Injury Prevention at Hackensack University Medical Center. "Nationally, trauma is the number one cause of death in people ages 1 to 45."

Each year in New Jersey, more than 140 pedestrians statewide are killed in crashes with motor vehicles, another 270 pedestrians are severely injured, and 6,000 are struck by motor vehicles. New Jersey's pedestrian fatality rate — 1.61 per 100,000 people — is the 15th highest in the nation. Svetlana became one of those statistics at Foschini Park, when she was taking a break from work. While standing at the end of the park's boardwalk, she saw one car stopped for her. But another car coming off the Midtown Bridge was going too fast to stop in time. In an attempt to miss the stopped car, the second car broke hard and swerved, hitting Svetlana as well as a DPW worker nearby.

"I saw him coming and I tried to get out of the way, but I really had nowhere to go and couldn't make it in time. My leg got pinned between the car and a pole," Svetlana explained. She had severe tissue damage to her entire leg and a broken bone in her lower leg — injuries a local news report described as "horrific." "I looked at my leg and thought, 'I'm going to lose it.'" Sasha, then 21, was also in the park nearby and came running. She screamed upon learning the victim was her mother and collapsed.

The ambulance arrived 8 minutes later. When she heard the paramedics tell her they were taking her to Hackensack University Medical Center, Svetlana was relieved. "I knew I was going to a good place. And when I met the surgeon, I knew everything was going to be alright," she noted.

When she arrived at the hospital, it still wasn't clear whether amputation would be necessary or if her leg could be saved. Svetlana's husband, Kirill, felt paralyzed at having to make this choice, because the chance of his wife dying was very high. But one of Svetlana's close friends at the hospital, skating coach Clover Zatzman, knew what Svetlana wanted. "She knew that skating and coaching were everything to me," Svetlana said. A surgical team led by Sanjeev Kaul, M.D., Director of the Division of Trauma/Surgical Critical Care and Injury Prevention, worked to stabilize her, dressing her wounds and treating the broken bone. When she woke up in the intensive care unit, where she would stay for one week, she was grateful to see her left leg was still there.

Dr. Kaul explained to her that she still had a long journey ahead, but that the Hackensack University Medical Center trauma team would be with her every step of the way. "He liked the positivity I was showing and told me he would fight for me as if it was his own leg," said Svetlana. "And he said I would skate again."

Over the next seven weeks in the hospital, she would endure 16 surgeries to remove damaged tissue and promote healing in the remaining tissue. Doctors worked hard to stave off infection. Surgeons had to remove 90 percent of her left inner calf muscle, replacing it with muscle from her outside calf. Vascular surgeon and Department of Surgery Chair Massimo Napolitano, M.D., replaced damaged blood vessels with vessels taken from her other leg. Along the way, physical therapists helped her keep moving, enabling her to start walking with a walker just three weeks after the accident. Her family and members of the skating community came by regularly to visit and support her.

Dr. Kaul and plastic and reconstructive surgeon Hakan Usual, M.D., placed special surgical covers on her leg when muscles, nerves, and blood vessels became exposed because the skin had to be cut away. To grow new skin, her doctors used a novel technology where some of Svetlana's skin cells were grown in the laboratory to generate stem cells that could grow into new skin. A product containing the stem cells was applied to the areas of missing skin on her thigh, where they took hold within two weeks, as well as on her lower leg, where progress was observed after a month. The skin has grown back, though she is still healing.

Svetlana left the hospital on August 19 and spent two weeks in an inpatient rehabilitation center. She is now walking without crutches. She still goes to physical therapy three days a week. She'll be able to start skating again once the swelling in her left leg recedes enough for her to put on a skate boot, but she's ready. "I'm quite excited I will skate again!" she exclaimed. "My entire team at Hackensack University Medical Center — my surgeons, my nurses, the ICU staff, the physical therapists — all worked miracles. I had all the best people and they gave me confidence. I'm also grateful for the Trauma Fund, because without research, the miracles my doctors worked for me would not have existed." Ice House generously donated $2,500 to become a Silver Sponsor of the Trauma Fund.

"Tonight gives us the opportunity to recognize the sacrifice and hard work that our trauma team delivers each and every day," said Dr. Napolitano. "This night is very special because it gives them the chance to actually sit and talk with the people whose lives they saved."

During the program, Pritam S. Grewal Good Samaritan Award was presented. The Grewal Good Samaritan Award was established in continuation of Mr. Grewal’s virtuous service to the medical personnel of Hackensack University Medical Center and in appreciation of the care he received following his car accident in 2012. The Grewal Good Samaritan Award recognizes Hackensack University Medical Center team members who demonstrate compassion and who unselfishly help others. The award was presented to Joseph Yallowitz, M.D., VP, CMO at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, who acted immediately and selflessly when he saw a person in need and got the patient to Hackensack University Medical Center's trauma center. In honor of Dr. Yallowitz, The Valley Hospital made a generous donation to the Trauma Fund.

"I didn’t know the severity of my father’s injury until we reached Hackensack University Medical Center. It was only after his MRI that I knew our lives would change forever," said Balpreet Grewal-Virk. "What I did know, from the moment we entered the Emergency Department, was that he was going to be okay because he was with a compassionate team of doctors and nurses. Time after time, they were there for him and for us. My entire family found great support and friendship at Hackensack University Medical Center. We can’t thank them enough."

"The saying 'it takes a village' rings true for the Hackensack University Medical Center trauma service," said Sarah Monchar, MS, PA-C, Operations Manager, Trauma Surgical Critical Care and Injury Prevention. "The success of this program is due to the collaboration and support of hospital leadership, the trauma surgeons, multidisciplinary clinicians, social workers, therapists, and — most importantly — the community and grateful patients and families. Tonight’s event illuminates this."

For more information, contact Mary McGeever, of the Hackensack University Medical Center Communications and Public Relations Department, at 551-996-1730 or 551-795-1675.

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