Clinical Congress 2022 highlighted the experiences of several passionate surgeons who volunteered to help treat the wounded, provide logistical support, and educate their colleagues treating victims of the Ukraine war—many of them with injuries that haven’t been seen on such a scale since World War II.
In SL03. The Ukrainian Crisis: Surgical Lessons Learned (available to view with conference registration), five US surgeons took turns offering their insights and experience.
They included:
- Aaron Epstein, MD, a surgical resident and founder of the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, who described his group’s extensive efforts to treat the injured and educate medical personnel on the frontlines
- John B. Holcomb, MD, FACS, a retired US Army Colonel, who noted that blasts in urban environments have made shrapnel, burns, and infection a primary concern
- Steven E. Wolf, MD, FACS, who shared that burn treatment, specifically, is a challenge in an active war environment because other types of injuries may be more immediately pressing to address
- Walter C. Dorlac, MD, FACS, a retired US Air Force Colonel, who spoke about the multipronged education trips that he and his team provided, which involved didactic sessions and frequent case reviews of the injured with Ukrainian healthcare workers
One of the most impactful presentations in the Special Session came from Hnat Herych, MD, PhD, a surgeon from Lviv, Ukraine, who described the difficulty in watching his fellow Ukrainian citizens experience devastating war injuries. Lviv is a city in the western part of Ukraine, away from the eastern front, but Dr. Herych’s large, modern hospital is one of the best equipped to handle the mass injuries of civilians and combatants.
More than 6,000 patients with war injuries have been received at his hospital, Dr. Herych said, including children and the elderly. War-related challenges for providing treatment have included the arrival of mass casualties simultaneously, increased demand for blood transfusions, and the logistics of managing evacuations. However, the war has prompted advances in Ukrainian medical treatment, including the use of whole blood, which was previously illegal.
Dr. Herych also spoke on the difficulties of communicating about medical treatment, infection control, and continuing treatment while Russian attacks target infrastructure, homes, schools, and hospitals. And he stressed that the war is not over.
However, Dr. Herych concluded with a hopeful thought. “The surgeons here in this meeting room who come to Ukraine are true heroes,” he said. “They are an example of how people can support a nation that is fighting for their freedom, their democracy, and their independence.”
Session panelists, along with co-moderators M. Margaret “Peggy” Knudson, MD, FACS, Medical Director, Military Health System Strategic Partnership American College of Surgeons (MHSSPACS), and Jeffrey D. Kerby, MD, PhD, FACS, Chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma, also discussed their experiences in a news briefing.
Watch the briefing online (no conference registration required).
