In the fight against epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, the Co-Pilot Project, an initiative under the auspices of Razom Health, has emerged as a beacon of hope for children in Ukraine. Through a generous grant from LivaNova, the leading producer of Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) systems, Co-Pilot has brought this life-changing therapy to Ukraine, offering a lifeline to children whose seizures have proven resistant to conventional treatment methods.
The Power of VNS Therapy
VNS therapy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure, involves implanting a small device called a neurostimulator under the skin, connected to the vagus nerve. This nerve, which runs from the brain to the abdomen, plays a crucial role in regulating various bodily functions, including seizure activity. The neurostimulator sends mild electrical impulses to the vagus nerve, helping to reduce seizure frequency and severity.
VNS is currently most commonly used for children who have partial seizures that do not respond to traditional interventions.
In Lviv, Ukraine, Mykhailo Lovga, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the First Medical Union, has successfully implemented the VNS system, bringing relief to six epileptic children. The first two surgeries, for Oleksandra from Mykolaiv and Denys from Dnipro, have been resounding successes.
Denys, a 9-year-old boy, has battled epilepsy since the age of three. Despite numerous medications and brain surgery, his seizures persisted. VNS therapy has offered him a renewed chance to live a normal life. Within three weeks of the operation, Denys has experienced a significant reduction in seizure activity.
In Kyiv, Konstantin Kostiuk, MD, PHD, Chief of Neurosurgery at the Romodanov Neurosurgery Institute, has introduced VNS therapy to a 10-year-old boy named Roman. Roman’s epilepsy, characterized by Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, has proven resistant to conventional treatments, including over ten anti-seizure medications and a ketogenic diet. VNS therapy represents another ray of hope for Roman, and the team is anticipating positive outcomes in the coming months.
The Co-Pilot Project’s success in implementing VNS therapy in Ukraine is a testament to the power of partnership and innovation. Working closely with local medical experts, Co-Pilot has ensured that these life-changing treatments reach the children who need them most.
Your support is crucial in enabling Co-Pilot to continue its work of providing life-changing medical care to children in Ukraine. Please consider donating to Razom and help us bring hope to those who need it most.
For the second time, Ukraine played host to the ‘Face the Future Ukraine’ mission, a collaborative effort involving Canadian and American reconstructive surgeons. This initiative brought global experts together with their Ukrainian colleagues to perform over 30 life-changing plastic surgeries on individuals who bore the scars of war. Among the patients were military personnel from various regions of Ukraine, all sharing a common experience of severe blast injuries to the face and neck.
Meet Andrii Smolenskyi, a 27-year-old who, after volunteering for the front lines at the onset of the war, eventually became the commander of a separate aerial reconnaissance unit. In late May 2023, during one of the missions, he suffered a grievous injury. Andrii lost both arms, his eyes, and partially his hearing.
Andrii Smolenskyi
Andrii has undergone nearly two dozen surgeries, and thanks to the heroic efforts of Ukrainian doctors, his life was miraculously saved. However, a significant scar painfully contracted his face. Surgeons from the ‘Face the Future’ mission took on the task of relieving his pain and enhancing the aesthetics of his face. In a complex, 6-hour surgery, they removed deformed tissue, placed a titanium implant under the eye, transplanted fat tissue and skin from his neck, and prepared his eye for cosmetic implants.
Dr. Peter Adamson, Founder and President of the Face the Future Foundation, described this as an exceptionally challenging case due to the patient’s multiple combined injuries, with most of the facial bones and muscles missing after the injury. He noted that this mission in Ukraine presented the most severe combined cases in their experience and expressed their commitment to returning every six months to assist Ukrainian defenders and train local colleagues.
Dr. Peter A. Adamson, MD (Canada) and Nataliya Komashko, MD ( UA)
To perform these unique surgeries, a team of 15 international specialists, including reconstructive surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, plastic surgeons, otolaryngologists, surgical oncologists, anesthesiologists, and nurses, arrived in Ukraine. They worked alongside and shared their expertise with Ukrainian specialists from Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia.
The preparation for this mission spanned five months, involving extensive online consultations for patient selection and surgical planning. For many patients, free individual implants were designed and 3D-printed by bioengineers from Materialize to restore the integrity of bones that were fragmented due to injury, said Nataliia Komashko, MD, Head of Ukrainian Association of Endoscopic Head and Neck Surgeries, who led the clinical program from Ukrainian side.
Dr. Nataliya Komashko (UA) (on the left)
This successful partnership between ‘Face the Future Foundation,’ ‘Razom for Ukraine,’ and ‘Still Strong’ has evolved into a long-term program, demonstrating remarkable results in training and supporting Ukrainian doctors in their professional development. It signifies an extraordinary achievement and outcome that will help Ukrainian doctors contribute to global medicine.
Dr. Cho, Dr. Kesarwani and Dr. Trites with a patient
During the two ‘Face the Future Ukraine’ missions, the team of experts successfully restored physical health and aesthetic beauty for over 70 Ukrainians. Importantly, all reconstructive surgeries were provided free of charge to the patients.
These missions also hosted international symposia for surgeons and nurses, allowing specialists from Canada, the U.S., and Ukraine to share their experiences in performing complex reconstructive interventions and the nuances of managing patients with combat injuries. More than 200 surgeons and nearly 300 nurses participated in the symposia.
Lileia Dzaliuk, Co-Pilot Coordinator in Ukraine
The Razom Co-Pilot Project has been facilitating the organization of highly qualified doctors’ visits to Ukraine since 2016. With the outbreak of war, medical organizations and teams from the U.S. and Canada approached Razom for support in helping Ukraine. Currently, the Razom Co-Pilot Project provides organizational and financial support to the largest teams in the U.S. and Canada, including ‘Face the Future,’ ‘Face to Face,’ ‘Global Leap Missions,’ and ‘Co-Pilot Neuro.’ Over 100 North American doctors have worked in Ukraine, performing 300 complex surgeries this year alone.
“We understand that it is impossible to help all patients during the short stay of the international team. Therefore, one of the leading goals of Co-Pilot is to train Ukrainian doctors and help them become leaders in their field and save thousands. Each international team conducts educational events: conferences, lectures and consults Ukrainian doctors online. Razom supports the observership for Ukrainian doctors in the U.S.. Only this year, 10 UA doctors had such an opportunity”, said Yuliia Shama, U.S. Co-Pilot Project Lead.
We are immensely grateful to the team of Face the Future Ukraine:
Surgeons Team Peter A. Adamson, Nataliya Biskup, Matthew Brace, Raymond Cho, Jonathan Trites, Priya Kesarwani, Paul Slavchenko
OR Team Jackie Abbott, Bibi Yasin, Janae Weber, Emma Piehl, Khristie Morrell, Luci Heiman, Hanna Robinson
Gail Kapsambelis (videographer)
Advisors Mark Levin, Anthony Brissett, Burke Bradley, Debbie Fritz, Maureen Merchant
The ‘Face the Future Ukraine’ humanitarian program is a joint effort involving organizations such as Face The Future Foundation (Canada), Razom for Ukraine (USA), Still Strong (UA).
We are immensely grateful to all partners and donors:
CF Patients of Ukraine, and the project “Rehabilitation of War Injuries.” organized academic days. The mission received support from Direct Relief, Materialize, STORZ Karl-Storz Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Endoscopic Head and Neck Surgery, the Regional Clinical Hospital of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council, Metinvest, Yellow Blue Force Foundation, the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Military Administration, Transmed, CF «Чисті Серця», and Razom.
In the latest chapter of Co-Pilot NEURO’s longtime work, Ukrainian and American specialists continue to evolve the neurosurgery sector in Ukraine.
Since 2016, Razom’s Co-Pilot project has been transforming the field of neurosurgery in Ukraine. The initiative employs a tried and true “train the trainer” model, providing experiential education to top-tier professionals and sharing global medical expertise to be shared further with Ukrainian colleagues and students.
Within this vast portfolio of education and training, two endovascular neurosurgeons from New York University (NYU) Langone Health and Bellevue HHC, Dr. Maksim Shapiro and Dr. Peter Kim Nelson, ventured to Ukraine recently, aiming to provide cutting-edge surgical care.
During their intensives across three key neurosurgery centers, a total of 21 surgeries were performed. Many of these procedures were broadcast in real-time, facilitating knowledge sharing among Ukrainian neurosurgeons.
The educational component was also a pivotal aspect of their trip. An international endovascular online conference, BANANAZ, featured lectures by experts like by Dr. Yuriy Cherednichenko, MD, PHD on the management of traumatic war injuries. Over 80 neurosurgeons benefited from these educational activities, including those attending the Annual Ukrainian Neurosurgical Association conference.
In addition to their expertise, Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Nelson also brought invaluable medical equipment and supplies worth over $1.2 million.
Looking ahead, they plan to create an observership at NYU for Ukrainian endovascular neurosurgeons. The next mission, set for Spring 2024, will focus on Dnipro, Lviv, and Kyiv, with a strong emphasis on live surgeries and educational outreach.
The work of the Co-Pilot NEURO program showcases not only the progress in neurosurgery but also the unwavering commitment of the American and Ukrainian medical communities to support the development of Ukraine’s healthcare system.
The partnership is a beacon of hope for the future of neurosurgery in Ukraine. Thank you to all participants for their unwavering support in making this mission a success!
Razom Co-Pilot Project’s medical missions/medical training in Ukraine) was started with the idea to bring the best neurosurgery practices to Ukraine and form a new generation of neurosurgery leaders among Ukrainian doctors. This program has since successfully expanded to more specialties:
“Face to Face Ukraine” programs together with the American Academy of Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgeons and INgenious providing reconstructive facial surgery with orthopedic and speech therapy components.
“Face the Future Ukraine” program with Face the Future Foundation (Canada) and Still Strong (Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Hospital) performing reconstructive facial surgeries, academic days for surgeons and nurses.
“Leap Global Mission Ukraine” focusing mostly on facial reconstructive surgeries for children.
The Co-Pilot NEURO Program withs four subspecialties: endovascular neurosurgery, epilepsy surgical treatments, spinal neurosurgery, and open neurosurgery.
The Co-Pilot Ortho Program (Kyiv, Dnipro hospitals).
Results of the program’s work from 2016 to 2023:
Over 100 doctors and medical personnel visited Ukraine.
More than 245 complex surgeries were performed.
Over 1500 patients were consulted.
Over 120 Ukrainian surgeons participated in the missions and improved their qualifications.
Over 2000 Ukrainian surgeons watched live streams of surgeries.
More than 10 doctors underwent internships at U.S. universities.
Nearly 20 Ukrainian hospitals were involved in the program.
Razom for Ukraine welcomed back a team of doctors from LEAP Global Missions who completed their 7-day medical visit to Lviv in March 2023. The team consulted more than 200 children and performed 35 highly-skilled surgeries at following hospitals: Ohkhmadyt Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital, First Emergency Adult Hospital, St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital, and a Military Hospital.
The team was organized by Dr. Steve Orten (tag), a plastic surgeon from Texas who visited Ukrainian hospitals independently in 2022 and shared his experience with US colleagues from LEAP Global Missions (tag), motivating them to visit Ukraine. The team’s preparation lasted two months, including regular Zoom meetings with Ukrainian doctors, patient selection, and revision of medical supplies.
Photo: Dr. Steve Orten, Plastic Surgeon from Texas USA and Ukrainian surgeon Dr. Christina Pohranychna look at CT scans of a patient in Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital as the father looks on.
The Co-Pilot Project: an initiative within Razom for Ukraine which coordinates and supports medical missions, supports this team of surgeons by covering housing, food, medical supplies, transportation, and providing scrubs to the doctors. Drs. Steve Orten (tag) and Craig Hobar (tag) led a team of 11 doctors who specialized in head and neck reconstruction, craniofacial surgeries and orthodontics, neurosurgery, urology and dermatology. Local logistics were organized by CMA UA (tag ) to make doctors feel at home in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
LEAP surgeons collaborated with Ukrainian surgeons in treating complicated craniofacial cases. “Our team worked with incredibly capable, professional, respectable Ukrainian surgeons. LEAP’s mission was to expose them to new surgical techniques, and LEAP was excited to assist with this cooperative relationship,” commented LEAP Media Director Jon Cermin, who documented the trip.
The medical team provided treatment for babies and children with birth defects, tumors of both children and adults in the head and neck area, traumas and scar revisions caused by shelling, from burns and other traumatic events. Two of the surgeries performed during the trip were complex maxillary midface advancement surgeries with computer planning, led by Dr. Craig Hobar, the Founder and Medical Director of LEAP Global Missions. The surgeries are expected to have a significant impact on the two young men’s quality of life, including how they function, eat, and even smile. Having exposure to this surgical procedure will change how these cases can be managed in the future in Ukraine.
The team included Ukrainian-American doctors, Dr. Victor Cherkasij (tag), Skin Cancer and Cosmetic Dermatology PC. Dr. Cherkasij not only treated difficult dermatological cases but also translated for his colleagues. He believes one week is not enough and plans to return for two or three weeks.
“Since the war started, I’ve been watching the war trying to understand and I was seeing the horrors of the war and I always felt I wanted to help Ukraine. I’m very happy I have something to offer, and we hope we will do it again.” – said James Suen(tag), MD, from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Photo: Dr. James Suen, Facial Plastic Surgery Otolaryngologist, Little Rock, Arkansas, Victor Cherkasij, PA, Dermatology from Cleveland, Tennessee and Dr. Christina Pohranychna, Okhmadyt Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital, Ukraine
The educational and training component of medical visits is the most important part that helps to establish a sustainable professional health care system in Ukraine.
Dr. Cheryl Anderson-Cermin (tag), craniofacial orthodontist, gave lectures to dental students, as well as the orthodontic residents from the Orthodontic Department of the Dental School in Lviv in regards to management of the infant, adolescent and adult individual with cleft lip and palate
Photo: Dr. Cheryl Anderson-Cermin, DDS, Craniofacial Orthodontics giving lecture to Ukrainian students in the the Orthodontic Department of the Dental School in Lviv
Dr. Anderson-Cermin outlined that the goals in this partnership are to bring additional expertise in these areas as the orthodontist on the team walks the child and the family through the process of the initial diagnosis, to the end of the growing years. The importance of psychological support for these families is also stressed, and the orthodontist has a significant role to play in this regard. Supplies were presented to the Orthodontic department to allow them to properly evaluate and treat future individuals.
It is worth mentioning that the urgent need for such complex surgeries in Ukraine is more significant than ever before. Thus, medical trips like this one are crucial for the treatment of patients who are in need. As these trips not only provide medical treatment, but more importantly, allow transfer of knowledge and skills to Ukrainian medical professionals.
Thank you to LEAP Global Missions US TEAM for their support of Ukraine:
Craig Hobar, MD, Craniofacial/Plastics
Steve Orten, MD, Facial Plastic Surgeon
Setty Pradeep, MD, Neurosurgery/Spine
Suen James, MD, Facial Plastic Surgery/H&N
Mark Hnatiuk, MD, Craniofacial/Plastics
Roman Bukachevsky, MD, ENT/Facial Plastics
Cheryl Cermin, DDS, Craniofacial Orthodontics
Victor Cherkasij, PA, Dermatology
Clanton Harrison, MD, Pediatric Urology
Jon Cermin, Photo/Video
Tatyana Bessmertnaya, Photo/Video/Translation
From Left: Rudy Myhovych, Christian Medical Assoc. Of Ukraine, Dr. Mark Hnatiuk, Dr. Pradeep Setty, Dr. Roman Bukachevsky, Dr. James Suen, Dr. Steve Orten, Dr. Clanton Harrison.
Leap Global Missions group: In-front: Tatyana Bessmertnaya and Dr. Craig Hobar In the back from left to right: Dr. Cheryl Anderson-Cermin, Dr. James Suen, Dr. Mark Hnatiuk, Dr. Steve Orten, Dr. Victor Czerkasij, Dr. Roman Bukachevsky, Dr. Pradeep Setty. Not pictured, Dr. Clanton Harrison
Cover photo: Photo: Dr. Craig Hobar assists Ukrainian surgeons Christina Pohranychna and Dr. Roman Ogonovsky, Ohkhmadyt Lviv Regional Children’s Hospital
The Face to Face mission of American facial reconstructive surgeons took place in a Lviv hospital on April 22-29. Nine doctors and eight nurses from the United States, along with their Ukrainian colleagues, performed free reconstructive and plastic surgeries on soldiers who had suffered face and neck injuries on the front line during russia’s war against Ukraine.
Great thanks to the team of
Surgeons: Drs Manoj Abraham, John Frodel, Augustine Moscatello, Gregoriy Mashkevich, Bruce Moskowitz, Ryan Winters, Boris Chernobilski, and Ivanka Nebor.
Nurses: Susan Ketigian, Teresa O’Malley, Lindsey Norrito, Kirsten Kringle, Joanne Heil, Iryna Frankiv, Yuriy Tsuvanyk, and Mariana Varchuk
Administrators: Aly Owens and Lisa Kadin
Drs Winters, Mashkevich, Rudomanenko, Chernobilsky, Moscatello, Panchenko, Abraham and Nebor
The mission duration was 7 days. Over 5 surgical days, 26 reconstructive surgeries were performed, five of which were unique procedures – bone transplants from legs and arms for the reconstruction of the jaw and nose.
Surgical cases included:
5 free flaps (3 fibular free flap, 1 radial free flap and 1 anterolateral thigh flap) for reconstruction of mandibular, maxillary and midface defects
11 personalized titanium 3D implants for facial bones reconstruction (Materialise)
5 complex rhinoplasties
1 facial nerve reconstruction with graft
Drs Rudomanenko, Mashkevich, Chernobilsky, Moscatello and Nebor are performing flap harvesting from the leg for mandibular reconstruction
Dr Ryan Winters (USA) and Vitaliy Panchenko (Ukraine)
The mission preparation took 3 months. We received more than 100 applications, but were able to select only 30. Following consultations, 26 patients underwent surgeries. There were 5 patients from the previous mission, which took place in September 2022. The American and Ukrainian teams worked side by side.
We are grateful to Ukrainian plastic surgeon Vitaliy Panchenko for his work and courage to host such a complex mission in his department. He, along with surgeons Mykola Syniuk, Tetiana Rudomanenko, Yuriy Herbish and Ukrainian anesthesiologists and nurses, made this mission possible and successful. Special gratitude goes to Hryhoriy Prokhorenko and Volodymyr Knychnytskyy.
Ukrainian team - Drs Syniuk, Knygynitsky, Prokhorenko and Panchenko
Drs Mashkevich and Nebor during patients consultation
First day - Patients consultation
On average, the surgeons operated for 15 hours daily. The total cost of all operations would have been about $1,000,000 in the United States. The team brought with them medical supplies, surgical threads, tools and equipment totaling about $100,000.
The microvascular instruments set was presented to Ukrainian plastic surgeon Dr. Vitaliy Panchenko by American team (Dr Mashkevich, Dr Panchenko, Susan Ketigian and Dr Abraham)
With the help of Materialise, titanium 3D implants for facial bone reconstruction were modeled and printed for patients, although such technologies and production are quite expensive. Professionals from Materialise provided free modeling and printing for Ukrainian patients, and volunteers were present at each surgery to help surgeons with visualization for each case.
Specialists from Materialise - Anastasia Krychun, Oleksandr Kanivets, Olha Horniak
One of the main goals of the Face to Face mission is to train Ukrainian surgeons. On the first day, American surgeons organized a workshop on applying vascular anastomoses under a microscope. They also conducted a training on the basics of scar reconstruction.
With the support of the Karl Storz Ukraine and Bionorica, the three surgical days were broadcast live, with more than 500 Ukrainian otolaryngologists, maxillofacial surgeons, plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists participating. The procedures were commented by Ukrainian specialists – Prof. Kopchak A.V., Bilotserkivsky I.V., Chepurny Y.V., Omerova L.M. and Yushchenko V.M.
Dr John Frodel and Razom for Ukraine team administrator Aly Owens
The Face to Face team was awarded by Lviv Regional State Administration and the Mayor of the City for volunteering efforts and helping Ukrainian victims of war. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi also met with the team and thanked them for their support and work.
Face to Face team was awarded by Lviv Regional State Administration for their efforts and met with Mayor of Lviv - Andriy Sadovyi
The project is aimed at helping the soldiers and war-affected Ukrainians who have suffered head and neck injuries. This project is about reuniting caring people to help others. We are already planning our third mission. And we thank every partner and volunteer who makes this project possible!
We would like also to thank Yulia Shama (Razom), Iryna Gudyma (Razom), Ihor Kurylo (INgenius), Ihor Solovei (INgenius) and Oleksandr Zakorchenyi (Materialise) for their significant contribution to the mission.
The first Face to Face mission took place in September 2022 in Ivano-Frankivsk, where the team conducted 31 operations for soldiers and civilians who suffered from facial and neck injuries during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Details are here.
“Razom has always been, and will continue to be, a volunteer-driven organization, and as we scale and grow, we are excited to bring on full-time staff who can sustain our donation pipeline, effectively deploy resources and funds to save lives and continue to ensure the world hears about Ukraine”
Razom has made the following organizational updates, effective immediately:
Lydia Kokolskyj, VP of Development, Razom: Lydia (Lida) has joined Razom full time as the VP of Development, where she will be responsible for identifying, engaging, cultivating, and stewarding current and prospective donors to meet annual revenue targets, in addition to securing the ongoing delivery of programs to support Ukraine. An accomplished leader in nonprofit advancement, Lydia has raised over $250 million for many deserving causes and holds a comprehensive background with three decades of experience in a range of nonprofit management roles including institutional and business development, strategic planning, marketing, communications, public relations and events planning.
Dan Solchanyk, Program Director, Razom Health: Dan will be joining Razom full time as the Program Director for Razom Health, which supports hospitals and other healthcare institutions that serve the civilian population in Ukraine. Dan grew up in a mixed Ukrainian-American household and has over a decade of experience leading emergency response teams and effectively managing health programs in some of the world’s most challenging conflict and disaster settings, including Ukraine. Dan earned his BS in Human Development from UC Davis and will be graduating from Northwestern with a MS in Global Health.
Anna Solovei, Program Director, Razom Relief: Anna will be joining Razom full time as the Program Director for the Razom Relief project, which aims to help non-governmental organizations in Ukraine provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the occupation. As Program Director, Anna will continue the program’s vital work of providing relief and support to those in need. Anna holds an MBA from London Business School and has garnered valuable experience during her tenure as a director at PwC and as Principal Banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Melinda Haring, Senior Community Engagement Advisor and Doug Klain, Research Analyst, Razom Advocacy: Melinda will join Razom Advocacy as a Senior Community Engagement Advisor, helping lead Razom’s grassroots advocacy work around the country. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Previously, she was Director of Stakeholder Relations & Social Impact for the Superhumans Center in Ukraine and deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Doug will join Razom Advocacy as a Research Analyst supporting Advocacy’s Government Affairs and Community Relations work. A recent graduate of the London School of Economics, he is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Most recently, he was an assistant director at the Eurasia Center.
Dora Chomiak, CEO; Oksana Falenchuk, CFO; Zoe Ripecky, COO, Razom: Dora has been appointed CEO of Razom. Previously, Dora held the role of President of the Board of Directors for the organization. Oksana has been appointed CFO, where she will be responsible for leading the work on budgets, financial management and reporting. Zoe has been appointed COO, responsible for overseeing organizational processes and ensuring successful program implementation.
“Razom has always been, and will continue to be, a volunteer-driven organization, and as we scale and grow, we are excited to bring on full-time staff who can sustain our donation pipeline, effectively deploy resources and funds to save lives and continue to ensure the world hears about Ukraine,” said Dora Chomiak, Razom CEO. “We’re grateful to Lydia, Dan, Anna, Oksana and Zoe for joining Razom as full-time staff, as well as Melinda and Doug for joining our Advocacy Team.”
Razom Co-Pilot Project’s mission is to address the significant deficit in high-quality neurosurgical, spine, reconstructive, and plastic surgery training in Ukraine by sending skilled surgeons from across the US and Canada to mentor and aid Ukrainian surgeons through difficult cases.
The medical trips include two completed missions and two future missions in spring 2023:
LEAP Global Missions March 17-26, Lviv, Ukraine: In the first formal LEAP mission of its kind and in partnership with the Ukrainian Christian Medical Association, two skilled doctors led a team of 11 medical professionals to assist with war-related and non war-related surgeries at First Emergency, St. Nicholas, Ohkhmatdyt and the Military Hospital of the Western Region. Their specializations include craniofacial, craniofacial orthodontics, head and neck trauma, head and neck reconstruction, neurosurgery, urology, and dermatology. The team worked across 3 different hospitals, where patients with war injuries were transferred from a neighboring community so the team could help as many as possible. Razom is proud to have contributed to this mission by covering housing, food and medical supply expenses, scrubs through FIGS, and transportation for the doctors who invested their time and knowledge in treating children in Lviv affected by the war.
Face the Future, March 24 – April 2, 2023, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine: Razom, Face the Future Foundation (Canada), and the Ukrainian Association of Endoscopic Head and Neck Surgery brought together a team of 13 American and Canadian doctors and nurses, who joined 17 Ukrainian team members to treat victims of war. Supported by Healing the Children Northeast, they met weekly for three months to pre-plan surgical treatments for each patient. These meetings also included Ukrainian specialists from Materialise, who created customized 3D-printed implants for patients. 100 soldiers and civilians with war injuries were assessed, with 30 selected for reconstructive facial surgery, and a total of 112 procedures were performed. Face the Future also held an International Symposium on War Injuries attended by 130 Ukrainian surgeons, a Nursing Academic Day for 70 nurses, and live-streamed surgeries for 590 Ukrainian doctors. Currently, Still Strong, a Ukrainian surgeon-run patient management database working with the mission, has accepted 347 patients requiring complex reconstruction to regain facial functions, improve patients’ appearance and decrease their PTSD. Future missions this year and next are currently being planned to address these tragedies of war and build Ukrainian health care capacity for complex facial reconstruction.
FACE TO FACE, April 21-30, Lviv, Ukraine: FACE TO FACE is the humanitarian arm of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS). This project was created in cooperation with AAFPRS, Razom, the medical NGO INgenius, and Healing the Children Northeast to help wounded victims of the war in Ukraine. A team of 9 facial plastic surgeons and 8 nurses will perform reconstructive and plastic surgeries of the head and neck area at the Lviv Military Hospital in Ukraine, the largest medical military center in the western part of Ukraine, which admits a record number of wounded soldiers daily. The doctors will perform 30 surgeries with high levels of complexity, as the majority of the patients have severe facial defects that require sophisticated surgeries, including microvascular reconstruction. One of the planned surgeries is considered to be one of the most unique facial microvascular reconstruction cases, using bones from the legs and arms, which takes about 15 hours. This kind of surgery helps not only to restore the face, but also restore the ability to eat and speak. As part of the mission, the complex reconstructions of the facial skeleton will be carried out using personalized printed titanium 3D implants from Materialise. This type of surgery is not part of the typical Ukrainian surgical training, leaving the majority of patients without appropriate treatment. As such, this mission will encompass an educational component. The team will perform complex microvascular reconstructive surgeries that help patients, while also training local surgeons so they can perform similar surgeries in the future by broadcasting the surgeries live. Around 200 Ukrainian doctors, including otolaryngologists, maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists, plastic and general surgeons, have already registered for the broadcast, where US and Ukrainian specialists will walk through every step of the surgery. The FACE TO FACE team will also be awarded by Lviv Regional State Administration for their work. The first FACE TO FACE mission of plastic and reconstructive surgeons took place on September 16-22. During the mission, 34 consultations and 31 operative interventions were conducted at the base of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital. For more information: https://www.razomforukraine.org/razom-face-to-face/
Neurosurgeons for Ukraine, April 27 – May 7, Lviv Ukraine: A group of neurosurgeons, their assistants and medical students will travel from the US to Lviv, Ukraine to assist in and train Ukrainian surgeons in performing complex cranial surgeries. This interdisciplinary team will consist of a pediatric neurosurgeon, a neurointerventional radiologist, a skull-base neurosurgeon, and a cerebrovascular neurosurgeon with expertise in neurotrauma and neurocritical care. The group will also bring valuable neurosurgical equipment to expand the neurosurgical operative capabilities in Ukraine. The team will collaborate with their Ukrainian colleagues to operate on a diverse mix of patients, including adults and children, as well as those with a variety of complex tumors and cerebrovascular malformations. Patients will be evaluated in a clinic and operated on at the Lviv Territorial Medical Union Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital of Emergency and Intensive Care. In addition to the valuable time spent teaching complex operative techniques to Ukrainian surgeons in the operating room, the US-based team will host a number of conferences and didactic sessions aimed at educating surgeons and surgical trainees in Ukraine.
“Razom is grateful to the doctors, our partners, including hospitals in Ukraine, and everyone who has made these trips possible,” said Mariya Soroka, Razom Co-Founder and Co-Pilot Project Co-Lead. “The importance of medical trips to Ukraine is critical to boosting the Ukrainian health care system, implementing new medical technologies, educating doctors, and of course saving thousands of lives and improving the quality of life for countless others.”
Proper professional education and training start with sharing of expertise and experience. Razom’s Co-Pilot Project has had this approach as its cornerstone for the past five years, bringing American surgeons to Ukraine to provide their Ukrainian colleagues with hands-on trainings.
And now, Co-Pilot Project has just been described and discussed in the Lancet Neurology, one of the most reputable journals in the clinical neurosciences, which is heavily read by clinicians. As the journal’s website states: “With an Impact Factor of 59·935, we are the world-leading clinical neurology journal, ranking first among 212 clinical neurology journals globally (2021 Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate 2022).” Thus, the article is expected to have high visibility and response.
The article entitled “Urgent need for neurological care in Ukraine” serves as a call for aid to help improve neurological training for Ukrainian surgeons. The members of the neurosurgery and neurology communities “urge our colleagues in the medical community to join us in our efforts to improve neurological care in Ukraine.”, – reads the article. The authors “have compiled a list of urgent needs, as directly requested by local practitioners (appendix).” They encourage neurosurgeons and neurologists “to join our trips to Ukraine to provide in-person assistance and training” and health professionals “to contact their medical institutions and enquire about equipment and supplies that could be donated.” The authors highlight the key role of Razom in monitoring “the use of funds along with the delivery and utilisation of donations.”
Such training in advanced surgical skills is now more vital than ever, as many Ukrainians are being severely injured and wounded in the russian-Ukrainian war. We are deeply grateful for the support of the neurosurgery and neurology communities. Special thank-yous go to Luke Tomycz, Christopher Markosian, Oleksandr Strelko, Andrii Sirko, Mykhailo Lovha, Rocco Armonda and all the authors for their assistance in spreading the information about the CPP project and the current needs of Ukrainian surgeons.
During September 16-24th, Razom facilitated a medical mission for the group of 11 American doctors and nurses from AAFPRS (American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) to deliver advanced reconstructive surgeries and corrective plastic procedures to patients who suffered as a result of russia’s war on Ukraine. In the spirit of collaboration and learning, American and Ukrainian colleagues worked side by side at the medical facility of Ivano Frankivsk Oblast Hospital.
On May 22, 2022, we received an email that read:
“My name is Dr. Manoj Abraham and I am a Facial Plastic Surgeon based in New York. I am the Chair of the Face To Face Committee, the humanitarian arm of the American Academy of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and I am a Governor for the American College of Surgeons. We are looking to partner with anyone sending medical teams to safe areas in Ukraine or surrounding areas to help treat those with facial injuries from the war – we have experience doing this previously in Croatia. We will need to connect with hospitals and doctors in the local area to help coordinate, and I am hoping you can put me in touch with anyone who can help with making these arrangements. My contact information is listed below. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks, Manoj”
This email started a massive collaboration that resulted in the Razom x Face to Face Medical Mission, giving 31 Ukrainians, military and civilians alike, extremely complex reconstructive surgeries and a chance to have a normal life.
Our team immediately saw the incredible potential and the major challenge of implementing such a mission, especially in the ongoing war. At first, it seemed almost impossible to find and connect all the dots to make it happen. Even the American College of Surgeons sadly informed Dr. Manoj T. Abraham:
“Many of you have reached out to us, asking how you can contribute to the care of victims in war-torn Ukraine.
At this time, no current role or mechanism exists for safe travel to help in person.”
But Razom’s team decided to embrace the challenge. We mobilized all connections and resources available to us to ensure that such an altruistic and invaluable for Ukrainian people intention becomes a reality.
Razom for Ukraine has been bringing doctors from the US to Ukraine since 2016 to work with surgeons on the ground and perform neurosurgery as a part of The Co-Pilot Project initiated and run by Razom’s co-founder Mariya Soroka and her husband, Dr. Luke Tomycz, Neurosurgeon at The Epilepsy Institute of New Jersey. The project has been a huge success and has given us a decent network of Ukrainian and American healthcare professionals and partners.
Hundreds of hours, miles of correspondence, and countless Zoom calls went into planning this mission. First, we connected with Dr. Ivanka Nebor – ENT doctor, founder, and president of INgenius, a platform for the development of medicine and science in Ukraine. Thanks to her professional network of young physicians in Ukraine, we were able to install the first wheel to the Face to Face vehicle.
We needed a hospital with operating theaters, postoperative care units, inpatient wards, and possible intensive care units. It was vital not to disrupt the care that was already being provided to the patients. The Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital and Ukrainian ENT doctor Natalia Komashko and her team courageously embraced a massive workload by taking on a lot of challenging cases in a short period of time.
Dr. Natalia Komashko and Dr. Ivanka Nebor
Finding the Ukrainian doctors and a hospital both interested and able to facilitate the American doctors’ efforts was only the beginning. Ahead of us laid a lengthy and complex process of recruiting and screening the patients. INgenius has utilized its platform and social media outreach to spread the word.
Patients’ stories moved, shook, and horrified us.The survivors of russian aggression hailed from locations notorious for war crimes and atrocities, such as Bucha, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Izyum. Repairing facial scars could be the final stage in their arduous medical journeys, allowing them to finally get closure, feel whole again, and return to society. Understanding that recuperation and readjustment to society are greatly aided by psychological rehabilitation, Razom invited our “Razom With You” therapists from the Ivano-Frankivsk Support Center to help the patients cope and process what happened to them.
English subtitles are available for this video
There were a large number of applications, but only the 34 most complicated ones could be selected. Not only did the patients need all of the supporting medical documentation for the screening process, but they also had to be physically able to withstand long hours of complicated surgeries.
After months of planning, long hours of surgery, and heartbreaking patient stories, this mission has deeply touched every participant. The American doctors’ and nurses’ incredible selfless devotion to helping people will long be remembered and appreciated by all Ukrainians.
The goal of this mission isn’t only to perform the medical procedures but to teach the Ukrainian doctors employ these incredible technologies in their practice. Throughout the entire week, all surgeries were broadcasted and available live for all medical professionals in Ukraine to observe and learn. Razom’s focus was always to support the democracy and prosperity in Ukraine, and modern healthcare is a vital part of any society. We strive to continue developing the avenues for education and experience exchange on both sides of the Atlantic by implementing more missions and projects that aid this process.
Please, donate to help us rebuild Ukraine and ensure that Ukrainian people have access to technologies available in the modern healthcare field
In 2021 we continued our work in Ukraine with the Co-Pilot Project with one formal trip (led by Mariya Soroka and Luke Tomycz) during which we performed several epilepsy and brain tumor surgeries with surgical partners in both Kyiv and Lutsk. A highlight of this trip was an anatomic hemispherectomy – the first to our knowledge ever performed in Ukraine – on a little girl in Lutsk who had a recurrence of her seizures, but again is seizure free and doing very well after this repeat surgery. We also traveled to Uzhgorod where we had a busy day of consultation with the local epilepsy team on various complex epilepsy patients who came from all around the country.
Unfortunately, because of the COVID pandemic, trips by both Dr. Matthew Geck (from Austin, Texas) to perform scoliosis surgery and Dr. James Liu (from Newark , NJ) to perform skull base surgery were canceled this year. But we hope to reschedule both of these trips as restrictions loosen. Furthermore, several of the Ukrainian surgeons who were slated to visit Dr. Forbes in Cincinnati have had their fellowships delayed.
Thanks to connections made by Dr. Vitalii and Yulia Shama and Oleksa Martinouk, we were able to speak with two new surgical partners in Europe, Drs. Schmitz in Germany and Dr. Rocka in Lithuania, both of whom are interested in training Ukrainian residents and setting up an international fellowship/observership in coordination with our team.
Finally, with the help of Maria Borisovska PhD, we were able to locate and purchase an EEG amplifier and this was transported to Dr. Kostiuk, the chief of epilepsy surgery at Romadanov Institute. He has already used this for intraoperative electrocorticography and we hope to assist them in their first extra-operative mapping case. This technology should substantially improve this center’s capabilities to offer surgery to a wider number of patients with drug-resistant, refractory epilepsy.
We hope during the next trip which is planned for April/May of 2022 we will reach and surpass an exciting milestone: the 100th major neurosurgical operation conducted by our team in Ukraine in cooperation with our partner surgeons! We hope to plan an annual dinner and fundraising event in 2022 following this trip.
