Ukrainian medical professionals have received training in reconstructive surgery by partnering with military medical specialists from the UK.
Trauma surgeons from the Defence Medical Services and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) have been sharing their expertise with medical personnel from the war-torn country.
Lieutenant Colonel James Baden, an expert in reconstructive surgery for combat-related injuries, guided the initiative to lead the UK delegation in training six Ukrainian medical professionals.
The Ukrainian cohort, comprising military and civilian members, received comprehensive training in various reconstructive surgery methodologies.
The training occurred at the Freeman Hospital and Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where participants could observe surgical procedures within an NHS theatre setting.
Subsequent sessions are scheduled at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. This centre specialises in treating military personnel who have sustained injuries and are repatriated from overseas operations.
Major General Tim Hodgetts CB CBE, UK Surgeon General and Chair of the Committee of Surgeon Generals in NATO, said: ‘Sharing medical skills and expertise amongst allies is the right thing to do. Both military and civilians injured in Ukraine have similar injury patterns, so sharing the expertise to enhance all patient outcomes equally is also right in this circumstance. Military and civil collaboration is at the heart of NATO’s new Medical Support Capstone Concept.
‘I am hugely impressed by the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Medical Services, their valour, and their dedication to saving lives in the most challenging circumstances.
In an increasingly abstract world dominated by digital and technology innovation, we still need surgeons with exquisite practical skills to treat the complex and disfiguring wounds of physical combat.’
Earlier this year, Ukrainian surgeons visited St Mary’s Hospital in London to observe life- and limb-saving trauma surgery techniques and learn complex surgery techniques to save victims of the war.
The visit was arranged by Shehan Hettiaratchy, the major trauma director and consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, as part of his work with frontline medical aid charity UK-Med.
More recently, several cohorts of Ukrainian surgeons have travelled to OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Centre, US, to train with an interdisciplinary group of experts to help them better treat patients with severe war-related facial injuries.
Collaborating alongside the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr Mark Mims, an expert facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon affiliated with OU Health, spearheaded the effort to host Ukrainian surgeons in Oklahoma.
Dr Mims specialises in surgical and non-surgical cosmetic and reconstructive procedures for the face, head and neck. The visiting Ukraine surgeons were educated in plastic, oral and maxillofacial surgery, ENT services and ophthalmology.
After refining their surgical proficiencies, they returned to Ukraine, accompanied by peers from different parts of the US who will continue to collaborate with them for a brief duration.
According to statistics from the UN, there have been 26,015 civilian casualties recorded in the country in total, with 9,369 killed and 16,646 injured. However, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believes the figures are considerably higher.
Russian air strikes, missile strikes, and artillery shelling have targeted densely populated urban centres, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, military bases and vital infrastructure nationwide.
