The story of Maksym, a young man from Odesa, vividly illustrates the incredible achievements of modern medicine. As a result of a unique operation performed by surgeons at the Children’s Hospital of St. Nicholas of the First Medical Association of Lviv, Maksym received a new shoulder blade. This was reported by the Lviv City Council.
Maksym Poberezhny first felt pain in his arm three years ago. The lad consulted doctors, who initially diagnosed him with a muscle strain. However, the pain persisted, leading to a CT scan that revealed a tumour on the shoulder blade. Initially, the doctors suspected a malignant sarcoma, but after a detailed examination in Lviv, it was confirmed that the growth was benign.
The tumour had already destroyed 80% of Maksym’s shoulder blade, prompting the doctors to act decisively. They modelled a new shoulder blade with a special bone cement, which preserved the joint’s function. “First, we created a 3D reconstruction and saw that we could salvage the remains of the shoulder blade and model a new one from bone cement,” said Oleksandr Kalinchuk, the medical director of the Hospital of St. Nicholas.
A year has passed since the operation, and Maksym has returned to his usual life. Despite the challenges, he has not lost the opportunity to explore new interests. Once an avid gamer, Maksym is now fond of reading books and paramedicine, with the aim of saving lives in the future.