Ken Stewart and Patrick Edison spent a week in Lviv and worked side by side with specialists from St Panteleimon’s Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv. Together, they consulted and operated on Ukrainian patients: defenders and civilians with facial nerve injuries.
The facial nerve provides movement of the muscles responsible for facial expressions. Its damage leads to facial paralysis. It is quite difficult to restore the damaged nerve. It requires a high level of skill and considerable experience, which is exactly what Scottish surgeons Ken Stewart and Patrick Edison have.
“The most difficult patients with facial nerve injuries are those who have suffered them as a result of mine injuries. As well as those who have complications after plastic surgery and viral diseases. These are the patients we operated on together with our colleagues from Scotland. This cooperation is important for both us and them. We can learn from our colleagues the most advanced methods, and they, in turn, gain experience in dealing with war trauma,” says Hnat Gerich, head of Surgical Department No. 1 at St. Panteleimon’s Hospital and head of the UNBROKEN surgical department.
During the joint operations, the Ukrainian-Scottish team of surgeons used the following techniques to restore the facial nerve: nerve transplantation from the leg, cross-nerve plastic surgery and the use of functional free flaps.
During the week of the foreign doctors’ stay at the First Lviv Medical Association, together with Lviv specialists, they managed to perform 7 operations and hold 20 consultations. This is a lot, given the complexity and duration of such interventions.