Sixty-nine-year-old Yevhen from Ternopil, who suffered severe injuries during a missile and drone attack on residential buildings in Ternopil, has returned home to his family after six months of treatment at St Panteleimon Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv.
Russia shelled Ternopil on 19 November 2025, using missiles and Shaheds. As a result of this strike, 38 people were killed and more than 90 injured. Among the victims was Mr Yevhen, who lives on the ground floor of a multi-storey block. Having stepped out of his flat in the morning, he found himself at the epicentre of the explosion, suffered a rupture of the abdominal cavity and lost consciousness.
The man was quickly pulled from under the rubble and taken to a Ternopil hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery. The patient was found to have a penetrating abdominal wound with damage to internal organs and massive bleeding, as well as a risk of leg amputation due to impaired blood circulation. Despite his grave condition, doctors in Ternopil managed to save the limb.
Mr Yevhen was in intensive care, where he remained unconscious for a week. After his condition stabilised, about a month later, he was transferred to Lviv for further treatment. He spent six months at St Panteleimon Hospital, undergoing a complex course of surgical procedures and rehabilitation.
According to Hnat Herych, head of the 1st Surgical Department of St Panteleimon Hospital, in the postoperative period the patient developed a severe purulent-septic complication, as well as large soft tissue defects of the abdominal wall and lower limbs. Doctors performed six reconstructive operations to restore the function of the bladder, right ureter and intestines.
“We performed six reconstructive operations to restore the function of the bladder, right ureter and intestines. So we are glad that we were able to help our patient,” said Hnat Herych.
Despite his life being saved and the leg preserved, the patient still has a serious problem with the limb: due to vascular trauma and prolonged disruption of its blood supply, he has lost sensation in it and for now is unable to walk. Doctors are planning another operation, this time orthopaedic, in approximately six months.
Doctors at the First Medical Association of Lviv remain optimistic and believe the man has a real chance of standing on his feet again and returning to an active life. For the time being, Mr Yevhen is regaining his strength at home in Ternopil after a long course of treatment at the Lviv clinic.
The First Medical Association of Lviv provides a full range of modern medical care — from diagnostics and treatment to complex surgery, rehabilitation and prosthetics. The Association comprises the hospitals of St Panteleimon, St Luke, St Mykolai and St Anna, the UNBROKEN Rehabilitation Centre, and outpatient clinics, where patients with the most severe injuries and the consequences of war are treated.