Leading Ukrainian and French maxillofacial surgeons will help them.
A French medical mission of leading specialists in reconstructive surgery has started working at the Superhumans Center clinic in Lviv Oblast. This is the next stage after the consultative one that took place last year.
The Ukrainian-French Medical Mission is an intergovernmental project of the Ministries of Health of Ukraine and France. A memorandum of cooperation between the ministers of both countries was signed last April during the opening of the Superhumans Center.
“Our previous cooperation has been continued today with the arrival of a large team of surgeons who will help solve two issues: they will perform reconstructive and surgical interventions on our Heroes who suffered at the hands of Russian terrorists and pass on their knowledge to our doctors who will continue to operate in Ukraine. The Superhumans Center team is doing incredible things that make the whole country proud and are known beyond its borders. And today we are in the center that releases what the President of Ukraine said: we must build a rehabilitation system in Ukraine that will be the best in the world, and we have started to do it. In Superhumans, we combine physical rehabilitation, psychological and reconstructive surgery,” said Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine.
The first stage of the mission took place in July 2023 as an advisory mission. At Superhumans, leading French and Ukrainian specialists examined 55 patients with mine-blast injuries to the craniofacial areas and developed treatment plans.
“First of all, I would like to thank the defenders of Ukraine, because they are the ones who encourage us to achieve. I thank Andriy Stavnitser’s team and the First Lady for their leadership in this. It is thanks to them that we have such cool and important projects. Thanks to Superhumans for new opportunities, for this wonderful space and hospital. And to everyone who works here. For doctors, this is an opportunity to provide care and grow professionally. And for those who have lost part of their health, it is an opportunity to recover. Superhumans people are united by the great power of human kindness and dignity. Thanks to the help of philanthropists, treatment, accommodation and meals are absolutely free for patients. As of today, 15 patients selected during the first mission have already undergone the first stages of surgery by medical teams in Lviv and Kyiv,” said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional Military Hospital.
In total, the specialists, led by Andriy Kopchak, Jan Vares and Oksana Petrenko, as well as Associate Professor Yulia Medvid, have already performed more than 50 reconstructive surgeries on the head and neck area for patients with mine-blast injuries sustained as a result of the full-scale invasion.
Eight patients were selected for the second stage of the joint Ukrainian-French mission, which will last until March 8.
All of them will soon undergo complex reconstructive surgery. The surgeries will take place at the Superhumans Center with the participation of specialists from both countries. Recently, new operating rooms for these types of interventions have been put into operation.
“We are very impressed with the changes that have taken place here since July. All the equipment and organization of the operating rooms are extremely modern. This morning we have already examined the patients we have been operating on for two weeks. The injuries inflicted on these patients are really complex and deep. I don’t think we need to emphasize once again that restoration of the face is extremely important for their reintegration into society. We hope for fruitful results during the two weeks of our cooperation,” said Chloe Bertolus, professor at the Sorbonne University and maxillofacial surgeon at the APHP Medical Association.
An important part of the mission will be educational. Two teams of surgeons from Lviv and Kyiv will gain experience from leading specialists from Ukraine and France, a country whose reconstructive surgeons are considered the best in the world.
According to Superhumans Center CEO Olha Rudneva, after the surgeries, they will conduct a training and review mission to examine 20 more patients for further operations and plan new missions of their French colleagues.
It should be noted that since July last year, the Center’s Reconstructive Surgery Department has received a significant number of applications from patients, and has already reviewed more than 200 of them. The applications are selected based on a set of criteria and the readiness of the patient’s health condition.
Thus, people who have suffered mine, gunshot or other injuries or need prosthetics can apply to the Superhumans Center.
To do so, the patient or his or her representative needs to fill out a questionnaire on the clinic’s website: https://superhumans.com/patients/ and wait for feedback. The clinic’s specialists will contact the potential patient within a week and provide further instructions.