The condition of three patients injured in Saturday’s attack on the Main Market Square in Krakow is stable and not life-threatening, doctors told a press conference on Monday, November 9. They cautioned that this is a very early stage of treatment and complications may still arise.
Two people after complex surgeries
At the press conference, Prof. Grzegorz Gajos, the representative of the director of the University Hospital in Krakow, confirmed that three victims are being treated at the facility. Two of these people suffered complicated chest injuries and underwent complex surgeries. “Overall, the patients’ condition is stable,” the doctor summarized.
Janusz Włodarczyk, head of the Clinical Department of Thoracic Surgery and Oncological Surgery, said that at this point there is no threat to the patients’ lives. People treated in the cardiovascular surgery department and at other hospitals also required surgical care.
“Far-reaching caution”
Prof. Gajos noted that the wounds were inflicted and treated outside a hospital setting. “The conditions in which these patients were rescued, in which the wounds were inflicted and bleeding was stopped, were not those of an operating room, so these complications may still appear,” he said. He added that “far-reaching caution” is needed when assessing their health.
The doctor thanked the rescue teams that treated the injured on site and directed them to the facilities best equipped for treatment. The hospital activated its teams, and psychologists have been caring for the victims since the first moments.
Patient privacy
Gajos stressed that, for formal and legal reasons, he cannot disclose the identities of individuals or report on the condition of specific people. The patients, he said, have been through an enormous trauma and require very intensive psychological care. He appealed for their privacy to be respected.
According to doctors, after treatment in highly specialized wards, the patients will undergo rehabilitation. Włodarczyk expressed hope that in about a week their condition will be good enough to transfer them for further care.
Background
The attack took place on Saturday afternoon, when a masked 24-year-old drove a car into the Krakow Market Square and began shooting at people. We reported the initial findings here: attack in Krakow – victims and injured. The perpetrator died at the hospital on Monday at around 4:30 a.m., the police reported. On Sunday, the Małopolska voivode said that both injured police officers had been woken from their coma; one of them remained in serious condition. We described foreign media reactions in our article about the attack in world media.
