Page 20 - RU Robert Wood Johnson Medicine • Summer 2020

Clockwise from above: Konstantin Balashov, MD, PhD. n Moments after the helicopter crash on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia n Dr. Balashov traveled to the Kamchatka Peninsula for a fishing trip.
Konstantin Balashov, MD, PhD, professor of neurology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was on board a helicopter
that made an emergency landing on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, injuring three people. The only physician on board, Dr. Balashov provided urgent medical aid to the injured passengers, preventing a possible severe disability for one of them.
nearly every passenger to be tossed to the back of the helicopter and injuring three people.
One of the passengers experienced a forehead injury, so Dr. Balashov inspected her cognitive ability and other neurological functions. Suspecting a cervical fracture, which was later confirmed in a hospital, Dr. Balashov immobilized the patient. According to him, if she hadn’t been immobilized, she would have had a worse outcome, possibly even a spinal cord compression with permanent neurological disability.
Another passenger was hit by an object during the landing and appeared to have a leg
fracture. To immobilize his leg,
Dr. Balashov used a saw to make a wooden plank, which he attached to the man’s leg. The third injured passenger suffered a deep skin- and-muscle laceration of his thigh. Dr. Balashov cleaned the wound and used a sterile gauze to stop the bleeding. Dr. Balashov says that without this early intervention before the medical helicopter arrived, including immobilization of the injured passengers, more serious injuries could have occurred. He attributes his quick thinking to his medical training.
“All doctors know what to do in emergencies—we were trained to quickly assess situations and act on them,” he says. “It’s an instant reaction and subconscious drive within every physician. It’s what makes a physician a physician.”
An hour and a half after the crash, a medical helicopter arrived and transported the three injured
passengers. The remaining tourists waited another hour for a new helicopter to arrive—during which time
Dr. Balashov grabbed a fishing rod and enjoyed the scenery of the valley. M
On August 13, 2019, Dr. Balashov was one of 23 passengers on a one-day, private helicopter trip through Geyser Valley on the Kamchatka Peninsula, a very rural area of eastern Russia that can be reached only by special vehicles. During the journey from the valley to a local resort for fishing, something went wrong with the helicopter, and the pilots had to make an emergency landing, causing
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF KONSTANTIN BALASHOV, MD, PHD
JOHN EMERSON