Soldier survives severe injury and receives high-level reconstruction in Ukraine

Roman, a Ukrainian defender from Cherkasy, was mobilized in October and served as an infantryman. He sustained a serious injury during a combat mission in February 2026 but managed to reach a safe evacuation point on foot, covering 25 kilometers.

The blast injury nearly destroyed the bone structures in his arm. However, the nerves remained intact, preserving a chance to save the limb. Doctors opted for microsurgical reconstruction using a bone graft, a technique that restores the arm’s anatomy while maintaining its function. Such operations are performed in Ukraine, but only by a limited number of teams, which remains insufficient given the scale of combat injuries.

An international team of microsurgeons arrived in Cherkasy as part of the Reconstruction Mission, aimed at training Ukrainian doctors to handle complex trauma cases.

During the 10-hour surgery, doctors removed fragments of destroyed bone and transplanted a section of the patient’s fibula from his leg into his arm. The team also performed a microvascular connection using a free flap technique, stitching blood vessels under a surgical microscope to immediately restore blood supply to the transplanted tissue.

Roman remained in good spirits after the operation.

“The surgeons said I’ll have a big biceps on this arm,” he joked.

“This approach helps avoid amputation and significantly shortens recovery time,” said orthopedic trauma surgeon Vladyslav Kozanchuk, head of the modern orthopedics department at Cherkasy Regional Hospital. “One such operation can replace a series of about ten separate procedures in the future.”

Ukrainian and American microsurgeons performed the operation together, providing real-time training for the local medical team in the operating room.

A lack of specialized equipment remains a major challenge for developing this field in Ukraine. The international mission brought surgical microscopes and essential instruments to support the procedure.

“These injuries are extremely complex even for leading centers worldwide,” said American microsurgeon Patrick Kelley. “I have performed more than 3,000 such operations, but the level of damage I see in Ukraine is unique. At the same time, the motivation of Ukrainian colleagues is remarkable—they want to learn and perform these procedures independently.”

Roman has a strong chance of regaining arm function after two months of early rehabilitation followed by long-term physical therapy, Kozanchuk said.

The Reconstruction Mission is organized by the Ukrainian Christian Medical Association in partnership with Leap Global Missions, Ed’s Friends, and AROMS.