以色列外科医生的中国情结

An Israeli surgeon's dexterity treating the largest and most serious wounds has brought him to Sichuan province again and again, he tells Liu Zhihua.

Moris Topaz finally had a good sleep on the flight from New York to China recently. The 63-year-old usually sleeps only three hours a day but that's enough, he says, to give him plenty of energy for his work.

Topaz heads the plastic surgery unit of the prestigious Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, Israel. He also serves as the secretary-general of the International Committee for Quality Assurance and Medical Technologies and Devices in Plastic Surgery.

On this, his most recent trip to China, he was part of a delegation led by Ronni Gamzu, director-general of Israel's Ministry of Health, which aimed to strengthen the cooperation of health communities in the two countries.

While "cooperation" may sound vague to outsiders, Sichuan resident Gong Fangxue has a very clear idea what that word means to ordinary people.

If not for TopCloser, a groundbreaking method for closing large wounds that Topaz applied in her operation, Gong probably would have died from a huge malignant tumor.

"It was a unique case over a very big tumor. Usually with these kinds of tumors, we have to do complicated surgeries with skin grafts or flaps," Topaz says.

"This time, we actually stretched the skin in a way we hadn't done before."

Gong, 40, found a suddenly fast-growing bump on her right shoulder in 2009. The resident of Deyang was diagnosed with a malignant spindle cell tumor.

Although it didn't spread to other parts of the body, the cancerous bump grew very fast.

Over the next two years, Gong underwent several removal surgeries, but the condition always recurred shortly after the treatments, and the tumor grew bigger and bigger.

Late last year, Gong came to the People's Hospital of Deyang City, after many other hospitals, including big ones in Beijing, refused to treat her. By that time, the tumor had become half as big as Gong's head, making her head lean toward the left. It had become difficult for her to move her neck. Worse, the tumor stretched the skin so far that at any time, the blood vessels could be broken, potentially leading to massive, even lethal bleeding.

Removing the tumor was urgent but tissues around the tumor were adhering with the tumor itself so it would be hard to avoid major bleeding, and nerve damage could cause death or paralyze her.

An operation wound so large would take a long time to heal with traditional wound-closure methods, such as skin flaps, but Gong needed quick healing so she could have radiotherapy as soon as possible and prevent a relapse.

"It was very risky to treat her, but we had to," says the hospital's president, Fan Tianyong.

"It is a hospital's duty to save lives even if the hope is very dim."

Luckily, the hospital had established a relationship with Topaz, who has superb experience and skills to treat such complicated conditions, Fan adds.

"The minute I saw pictures of the patient, I felt I must go to the hospital for her," Topaz says.

On Dec 13, 2013, Topaz operated on Gong with physicians from the hospital.

In a four-hour operation, they removed the tumor tissues carefully, and used the TopClosure system to connect the two edges of existing skin with a special plastic thread, eliminating the need for skin-implant reconstruction.

The second day after the operation, Gong felt her pain easing. Within two weeks, the wound healed, and she was able to have radiotherapy. Now regular checkups indicate she is recovering from the cancer.

It was the first time in the world that such a large wound was healed without skin flaps and implants, according to Li Yongzhong, director of the hospital's burns and plastic surgery department.

But that's just a sample of what Topaz has done to enhance medical cooperation between China and Israel.

In 2008, when news came that an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Topaz volunteered to the province's foreign experts' affairs bureau to help save critically injured victims.

He soon arrived in Deyang, one of the most severely hit areas, donating medical devices and medicines that cost 100,000 yuan ($16,000) and treating patients.

He also trained local medical professionals with advanced wound-treating methods, which helped patients with large wounds heal faster, with less infection, suffering and aftereffects.

Since then, Topaz has visited Sichuan regularly, to train local medical personnel with new plastic-surgery technologies and techniques.

In 2011, Li's hospital established close ties with Topaz's. In 2017, with help from Topaz, Li and a colleague were invited to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center to study with medical experts there.

Benefiting from Topaz's help, the hospital has exponentially extended its burns and plastic surgery department's ability and capacity: The department now has 17 doctors and nurses, up from the original two doctors.

"Professor Topaz has visited Deyang dozens of times to teach and help our doctors here in the past few years," Li says.

"He is very nice and a good friend to Chinese people."

Q&A

1. What's your personal China story?

It's very special experience, because I came to China nine years ago. I had heard about China in stories but not in reality. It is very impressive to see the way China is developing in a very fast way.

2. What drew you to China?

In my profession, I come where I can do surgeries, I do good (to people). It helps me know the people. I have many friends in many places in China. You meet one surgeon in one surgery, and then you know him for life.

3. What's your life's dream?

I don't sleep much, so I don't have much time to dream! I try to do things. I'm trying to do as much as possible.

4. What's your take on the Chinese Dream? How is it related to your dream?

I think the Chinese Dream should be having China improve with better medicine, better education and better life. China is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. You should keep it good, that is important.

5. How will you think the Chinese Dream plays out in China? What does if means for international community and Chinese people?

China is very strong and is taking more and more part in the international arena. You had the most fantastic Olympic Games and are advancing in many fields.

中国日报5月6日电（记者刘志华）一名以色列外科医生告诉中国日报记者刘志华，因为他在治疗大面积严重创伤方面医术娴熟，因此他多次来到四川省。

最近，莫瑞斯·托帕兹（Moris Topaz）终于在纽约飞往中国的航班上好好地睡了一觉。63岁的他经常一天只睡3个小时，但他说，这足以给他的工作提供了充足的能量。

托帕兹是以色列哈代拉希勒雅法医学中心（Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera）的整形外科主任，他还是国际医学整形美容质量保证和设备安全委员会总秘书长。

在最近一次的中国行中，他是以色列访华代表团的一员。此代表团由以色列卫生部总司长罗尼·甘祖(Ronni Gamzu)率领，旨在加强中以双方在卫生社区方面的合作。

虽然“合作”这个词听起来很含糊，但是来自四川的龚方雪（Gong Fangxue）清楚地知道这个词对老百姓意味什么。

要不是有“伤口拉链（TopCloser）”——托帕兹在缝合大面积创伤中使用的开创性方法，龚方雪可能已经死于硕大的恶性肿瘤。

“她的病例很罕见，肿瘤非常大。通常在治疗此类肿瘤时，我们必须用植皮或转移皮瓣的方法进行复杂的手术，”托帕兹说道。

“这一次，我们使用从未进行过的方法将皮肤拉伸。”

龚方雪今年40岁，来自四川省德阳市。2009年，她发现右肩有一个肿块突然快速肿大，之后，她被诊断患有恶性梭形细胞肿瘤。

虽然肿瘤没有扩散到身体其他部位，但生长速度非常快。

之后的两年内，龚方雪进行了数次切除手术，但是病情总是在治疗后不久就复发，而且肿瘤长得越来越大。

龚方雪去过好多家医院，包括北京的几家大医院，但它们都拒绝接收她。直到去年年底，德阳市人民医院接收了她。那时，肿瘤已经有她的半个头那么大了，这使得她的头向左倾，要扭动脖子也非常困难。更糟的是，肿瘤把皮肤撑得只有很薄的一层，血管随时都会破裂，这可能引发大出血，甚至失血致死。

切除肿瘤是当务之急，但是肿瘤周围附着着一些组织，所以手术时要想避免大出血十分困难，而且神经损伤可能导致她死亡或瘫痪。

手术伤口很大，如果使用传统伤口缝合的方法，如皮瓣转移，伤口将需要很长时间才会愈合。而龚方雪必须快速愈合伤口，才能尽快进行放射治疗，防止复发。

“为她做手术风险很大，但我们没有选择，”德阳市人民医院院长范天勇说道。

“救人是医院的职责，即使希望非常渺茫。”

范天勇还说，幸运的是，我们医院曾与托帕兹建立了关系。他在治疗此类复杂病情方面有超凡的经验和技术。

“看到病人照片的那一刻，我觉得我必须为了她去一趟四川德阳的人民医院，”托帕兹说道。

2013年12月13日，托帕兹和德阳市人民医院的医生一起为龚方雪做手术。

为时四小时的手术里，他们小心翼翼地切除了肿瘤组织，然后用特殊的美容针线通过“伤口拉链”方法将现存皮肤的两端缝合起来，消除了皮肤移植手术后的重建过程。

手术后第二天，龚方雪感到她的疼痛减轻了。两周后，伤口愈合了，这意味着她可以进行放射治疗了。现在定期的检查显示她正在从癌症中恢复过来。

李永忠是德阳市人民医院烧伤整形外科主任，他说，如此大的伤口没有进行皮瓣转移和植皮手术就愈合了，这在全世界是第一例。

但这只是托帕兹为加强中以医疗合作所做事情中的一个例子。

2008年，当托帕兹得知四川发生8.0级地震后，他自愿到四川省的外国专家局帮助伤势严重的受灾者。

不久，他就到达德阳市——受灾最严重的地区之一，捐赠了价值10万元（约合1.6万美元）的医疗设备和药品，并帮忙救治病人。

他还对当地医务专业人士进行培训，教授先进的治疗创伤的方法，这使有大面积创伤的病人痊愈得更快，同时减轻他们的病痛，减少感染和后遗症的发生。

从此，托帕兹定期到四川对当地医务专业人士进行培训，教授新型整形外科技术。

2011年，李永忠所在的医院和托帕兹任职的医院建立了紧密的联系。2017年，受托帕兹的邀请，李永忠和一位同事抵达以色列希勒雅法医学中心，与当地的医学专家一起学习研究。

在托帕兹的帮助下，德阳市人民医院烧伤整形外科的实力呈指数型增加：从最初的2名医生不断往上攀升，该科系现在有17名医生和护士。

“过去几年里，托帕兹教授来过德阳好几十次，教导、帮助我们的医生，”李永忠说道。

“他人很好，是中国人民的好朋友。”

问答

1.你与中国的故事是什么？

这是个非常特别的经历，九年前我第一次来中国。在那之前，我只从别人的叙述中了解中国，并没有亲身经历亲眼看到过。中国发展得如此之快令人印象深刻。

2.是什么吸引你来到中国？

因为我职业的缘故，我可以在哪里做手术，我就去哪里，我（为人们）做好事。这帮助我认识很多人。我在中国很多地方都有朋友。在一场手术中遇见一名医生，此后一生都会认得他。

3.你的人生梦想是什么？

我的睡眠时间不多，所以我没有很多时间做梦！我试着去做事，尽可能多做事。

4.你对“中国梦”有什么看法？它如何与你的梦想联系起来？

我认为中国梦应该是中国朝着更好的医疗、更好的教育以及更好的生活发展。中国是世界上最和平的国家之一。你们应该继续保持，这很重要。

5.中国实现中国梦后，你会有什么想法？这对国际社会和中国人民来说意味着什么？

中国非常强大，在国际舞台上占据越来越重要的地位。你们举办了最出色的奥运会，在很多领域中国人的地位都在提高。