Oleksandr B, 38. Treatment is in progress

How Oleksandr’s treatment is progressing:

Wounded:

Oleksandr, 38, a fighter with the 93rd Brigade, wounded near Avdiivka.

Wound:

• tangential defect in the upper third of the right tibia of 12 cm in length,
• rumen soft tissue defect of the upper third of the right leg size 12×7 cm,
• shortening of the right leg by 7 cm.

The soldier is at risk of becoming disabled through non-function of his leg or even losing his leg, because public medical institutions are not equipped for the treatment of such injuries. To return leg function requires complex plastic surgery to the soft tissues and treatment of the bone loss using stem cell biotechnology.

More information about the wounded:

Oleksandr, a fighter with the 93rd Brigade was wounded on January 19, 2015 near the city Avdeevka. During the night, when Oleksandr with fellow guard were manning a checkpoint, they came under fire from the occupied territory. As a result three soldiers were wounded, but Oleksandr was the only one to suffer major injuries. He received explosive-shrapnel wounds to his legs and stomach and lost a lot of blood. The soldier’s leg was completely smashed, with splintered bone and significant nerve damage.

The hero was treated in hospital in Dnipropetrovsk. Oleksandr’s stomach injuries were initially treated, then skin was transplanted skin. However, the soldier’s leg, despite some seven operactions is still not cured because of the major defects to the soft tissues and bones, for which traditional medicine cannot offer effective treatment. Doctors even suggested amputation.


During treatment in hospital in Dnepropetrovsk Oleksandr was lucky to meet with his namesake Olexander, a paratrooper with the 25th Brigade, who recently underwent stem cell treatment of his foot wound as part of the social project Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded and advised the soldier to turn to the project for help.

Oleksander was born in Kherson, then moved to Dnipropetrovsk. Before the war he worked as a mechanic in one of the city’s large industrial enterprises. He was mobilized on August 28, 2014 – first to the 20th Territorial Defense Battalion, which was subsequently attached to the 93rd Brigade. Oleksandr participated in the defense of many cities in Donbas, including Marinka and Krasnogorovka.

At home waiting for the hero is his wife Oksana and 9-year-old son who is very confused by his father’s seeming endless treatment in public hospitals.

Required treatment:

Reconstructive-restorative treatment tibia to help restore the soft tissue and bone, and to return the leg to full function.

Itemized costs for diagnosis and treatment:

• Examination and consulting with specialists (orthopedics, bio-engineering specialist): 9 635 UAH.
• Collection of cellular material, manufacture of 140 million cells and cellular media (discount 40%): 115 120 UAH.
• Surgical treatment of three defects (discount 40%): 326 028 UAH.

Budget update:
Oleksander joined the ‘Biotech’ project with a terrible defect of the tibia: he lacked 7 centimeters of the tibia in length, and 12 centimeters more – on the lateral surface. Among other things, soft tissues were severely affected, 12×7 cm area of the mutilated bone was actually exposed. Due to the large area of injury and significant tissue defect, even seven operations performed in the hospitals did not help – doctors in state hospitals could not restore the integrity of the bone.

In 2016, under the program ‘Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded’, Oleksandr underwent a number of successful surgeries. The injured shin bone has healed, natural length of the bone has been restored and the lateral defect of the bone has been compensated with the help of cellular materials. At the same time, doctors performed basic plastic surgery of soft tissues.The soldier started light exercise, but it turned out that along with soft tissues the nerve was almost completely destroyed – ankle joints did not function. To give the patient the opportunity to step on the feet, the doctors assigned an additional surgery, arthrodesis of the ankle joint – the foot was tightly attached to the tibia. Costs for this stage amounted to 64 139 UAH.

Immediately after the bone was healed, several complicated plastic surgeries were performed to compensate a significant defect of soft tissues. The lesion was extremely serious: in essence, the leg was just a bone, covered with skin. To restore the functions of the leg, it was extremely important to restore the tissues themselves and their normal nutrition. Additional operations required additional procedures: numerous important analyzes and examinations, serious manipulations, and additional surgical interventions, among other things, there was a need to delay the patient in the clinic for a few overtime days. These costs amounted to UAH 35 226.

Updated cost of treatment including medical center discount: 550 148 UAH