Volodymyr Ovsianikov lost an arm and an eye in the war, and has already undergone more than 20 operations. Just to save the scout’s shrapnel-cut leg, surgeons at the National Rehabilitation Centre UNBROKEN in Lviv have already performed 10 surgeries. A series of surgeries, long-term rehabilitation and prosthetics are still ahead.
Volodymyr Ovsyannikov is 47 years old. He is from the small village of Andriivka in the Dnipro region. When the full-scale war began, he decided to join the Armed Forces, but Volodymyr was not accepted – he was rejected for health reasons. But he did not give up and continued to pound the doorsteps of military enlistment offices. In March, he got his way and joined the army.
Since he was an avid hunter in civilian life and was good at tracking, he became a scout. He fought in Kherson and Donetsk regions. He was seriously wounded in July 2023.
“There was a heavy shelling then. The Russians attacked us from all sides. I was adjusting the fire. There was an arrival, and one of my comrades-in-arms was wounded, I ran up to help him and at the same moment the enemy shot directly at us: I took the entire blow,” the scout shares his memories of that day.
Volodymyr was on the verge of life and death. The shrapnel cut almost the entire body of the defender. He lost his right arm, part of his left fingers and an eye. The soldier’s right leg was also severely injured. There was a high risk of amputation.
After a number of hospitals, the fight for Volodymyr’s lower limb continued in the NESLAMNI centre of the First Medical Unit of Lviv. The scout was brought here five months ago in a serious condition. His mother, a teacher, came with Volodymyr. The woman does not leave her son for a day. And right in his ward, she continues to remotely read lessons to her students.
In order to save the defender’s lower limb, surgeons performed a series of difficult reconstructive surgeries – as many as 10. One of them was carried out jointly with American surgeons to restore the integrity of the bone and free flap (transplantation of the patient’s own soft tissue).
About 10 more surgeries are ahead for the defender. A physical therapist works with him every day in the ward to avoid complications. “We are working on the strength of the patient’s muscles to prevent their atrophy, as well as on contractures in Oleksiy’s joints. He is already moving from the bed to a wheelchair on his own, which is a great success,” physical therapist Khrystyna Tsap shares the rehabilitation process.
The next interventions will be performed by the maxillofacial surgeons of the NESLAMNI centre. It will be a series of plastic surgeries to restore the face. And then there will be months of rehabilitation and the installation of a modern prosthetic arm.
Volodymyr is highly motivated to recover. He says that despite everything, he dreams of returning to the front and helping his comrades defend Ukraine.
Reference.
The UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Centre is a unique place where adults and children affected by war receive comprehensive, qualified medical care. This includes reconstructive surgery, orthopaedics and robotic prosthetics. Not only are prostheses fitted to the victims, but they are also manufactured here. The centre also provides physical, psychological and psychosocial rehabilitation for injured military and civilians. The centre’s goal is to ensure that people with war injuries do not have to go abroad for treatment, but can be rescued, prosthetically rehabilitated, and rehabilitated in Ukraine.
Project website: https://unbroken.org.ua/