Kaldarbek Abdramanov, a renowned cardiac surgeon, professor, honored doctor, and the chief freelance specialist in cardiovascular surgery of Kyrgyzstan with over 40 years of experience, has published an emotional open letter on social media titled «Cry from the heart.» He recalled that since the first heart surgery performed by Academician Isa Akhunbaev on May 19, 1959, Kyrgyz cardiac surgery has come a long way, but still operates in conditions far from international standards.
«We, the students and followers of the great surgeon Isa Akhunbaev, have performed over 70,000 heart surgeries. We do nearly everything that clinics in Europe and the U.S. do. We have the knowledge, experience, and trained specialists — but we lack the most essential thing: proper conditions. And this is what’s holding back the development of cardiac surgery in Kyrgyzstan,» he emphasized.
According to Abdramanov, despite significant achievements, Kyrgyz surgeons are forced to work in extreme conditions. After a fire destroyed the building of the Research Institute of Heart Surgery and Organ Transplantation in Bishkek, the team has been operating in unsuitable premises. And international assistance programs, according to the specialist, are sometimes formal in nature: «Foreign colleagues operate on simple cases, without training our doctors in new technologies and without leaving equipment. These initiatives, in essence, fail to address real problems.»
His appeal came shortly after President Sadyr Japarov publicly reprimanded the Minister of Health, reproaching him for his inability to establish effective operation of the system.
«It’s not about shame in front of foreign doctors, it’s about shame before ourselves and the memory of our Teacher. We’re distracting the head of state from urgent matters. But our task is to be worthy successors of Akhunbaev — not to beg, but to teach, to save, to develop. How long will this continue?» the professor asked rhetorically.
He expressed hope that this appeal will be heard not only in the professional community, but also in the government. The cardiac surgeon is confident that with modern infrastructure and support, Kyrgyz doctors will be able to perform heart transplants, for which the country is not yet ready technically, but not scientifically.
