UNMC recently hosted five surgeons and a program manager from Ukraine as part of the Congressional Office for International Leadership Open World Program. The surgeons are visiting as Ben Nelson Fellows for an exchange on polytrauma and the injuries of war.
“We recognize this is a partnership,” UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, said upon meeting the group, “and a partnership is two ways. We are very proud of the relationship we have had with Ukraine and look forward to continuing the relationship, especially right now.”
UNMC and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health previously signed a cooperative agreement that formalized the university’s pledge to support continued emergency preparedness expertise in Ukraine.
Viktor Romanchuk, MD, head of the department of planned surgery with the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Central Region in Ukraine, told Dr. Davies, “We want to share our experience, and ask you your advice.”
The visit took place over eight days, Nov. 8-16. While in Omaha, the Nelson Fellows took part in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, had an all-American cookout and visited the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. There were tours and friendship mixers. Friendship Force provides homes where the Ukrainian delegates stayeds and helped organize an immersive cultural experience.
But it also was very much a serious exchange. UNMC is a top American academic medical center with next-generation technology, cutting-edge innovations and the latest training techniques. The Ukrainian physicians have extensive hands-on experience in dealing with war casualties.
Dr. Romanchuk, for example, has performed more than 2,000 surgeries, including approximately 500 highly complex operations involving severe injuries to the heart, aorta, inferior vena cava, pancreas, liver and pelvic organs, since joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022. He is head of surgery at his military medical center, where more than 20,000 surgical interventions have been performed under his ultimate supervision.
“My main focus is organizing and implementing a highly effective system for timely and highly qualified surgical care for patients and the wounded, aiming to save lives and ensure rapid combat and work capacity recovery,” he said in his application for the fellowship at UNMC. “Through participating in the program, I hope to gain experience from colleagues and share my own regarding the provision of aid to victims of polytrauma and combat injuries.”
The Ukrainians and their UNMC colleagues met on acute care surgery and trauma, the use of whole blood, tourniquet use and ischemic reperfusion, orthopaedic biomechanics and advanced surgical technologies and more. There were discussions on infections in combat casualty care, a visit to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals and visits with emergency medicine and iEXCEL.