1,710 patients from Moldova will get endoprostheses till the year-end, as the Healthcare Ministry has authorized surgeons to perform such operations in the area of the hip and knee.

30 surgeons will be trained in Turkey and Romania till December.

The endoprostheses have already been bought and are to be distributed to district hospitals.

"Starting from 2018 we plan to perform about 3,000 arthroplasties annually. The waiting period of a patient won’t exceed 60 days," explained Health Minister Ruxanda Glavan.

Only one hospital in Moldova is performing such surgeries, as the patients have to wait up to five years and 12,000 people are queued up.