Unless the unique «Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded» project, Oleksandr would either limp on his ugly prosthesis, or have to stay inside forever until the end of his days. The man admits now when he is still wearing Ilizarov apparatus and has to limp on his crutches, it feels a bit embarrassing to meet others’ eyes, so he prefers to stay home and look through the window waiting for his son to come back from school.
Oleksandr with his charming wife Oksana. The man has already stood on his own legs since his primary surgeries within the Project
Innovative technologies gave hope to Oleksandr. He fought with the 93rd Mechanized Brigade. Under a fierce shelling near Avdiivka he nearly lost his leg. A mine exploded next to him having cut his shin and body heavily. At a Dnipro hospital doctors saved his life, but nobody knew what should be done to his leg. Seven surgeries and numerous examinations had been completed, still the leg failed to fuse up. Finally, doctors plainly explained that Oleksandr would have to limp for about a year and then amputation would have been the next step. Eventually, by chance, Oleksandr met another participant of the Project who had just undergone effective treatment and his leg got successfully restored. A former patient of the Biotech whose name was Oleksandr as well, advised his colleague to apply to these unique specialists for treatment. Initial examination revealed that the damaged bone did not fuse up, and contagion accompanied by pathological processes, destroyed about seven centimeters of the leg’s total length. Besides, there was a tangential defect that developed not along the bone but on its lateral surface: it ruined large fragment of the bone tissue. It was the malicious trauma that prevented the bone from fusing up.
Oleksandr’s treatment started with this
Two years have passed since the man joined the Project. Yes, it has been quite a long period of time, but the amount of work done within it, is impressive, too. Since the beginning of treatment, the doctors have grown totally almost twenty centimeters of the lacking bone. Just imagine: twenty centimeters! Of course, conventional medicine could hypothetically assist: if the strict regulations allowed, doctors could take a donor’s bone and implant it into the defected area; the patient would be doomed to lifetime intake of drugs suppressing his immune system, for the organism not to reject a foreign body. Moreover, due to the suppressed immunity Oleksandr would suffer from the slightest infections: a sneezing kid could bring him to the brink of death, for example. Is this called life?
One of the numerous surgeries within the Project
The Project’s specialists in bioengineering have grown for Oleksandr a new bone matching the defected one, all out of the man’s own tissues. Further application of cell technology – filling the area of prospective fusion with concentrate of the corresponding stem cells responsible for restoration – guarantees fast and effective fusion of the bone with the transplant into one monolith structure. Actually, it has already happened as Oleksandr has successfully undergone the main stage of surgery including transplantation. The same gel saturated with stem cells, has also repaired the defect of side surface of the bone: it got healed as if never existed.
The restored bone of a physiological length during the process of fusion. The outcome is to be shown a bit later
Still it is not time to walk yet. For today, the doctors are working on the shin and foot connection: the explosion demolished both nerve and corresponding muscle, which makes restoration of the joint to its natural condition impossible. That is why the doctors fixed the joint into one stiff structure, for Oleksandr to be able to adjust himself and try to step on the immobilized foot. Let him learn how it works, train a bit, and he will be able to walk on his own feet very soon. In two months Oleksandr will have to come for control examination. It will show whether the treatment needs to be corrected and continued or the time for rehabilitation and training has come.
The money charged for the full course of treatment was paid by the People’s Project volunteer center. This cost us about half a million hryvnias, and all this amount was raised thanks to both your donations and Oleksandr’s former employers, the «Interpipe» company’s contribution. The state has been consistently avoiding participation in the process; due to the Ministry of Health officials’ position which reads as follows: “The application of cell technology is not more effective than conventional methods”, it does not designate any money to support this treatment. Effective or not, but everyone can see the outcome: the Project has restored over a hundred of wounded fighters whom conventional medics had failed to help. Okay; we just have to do what we committed to: to restore the heavily injured soldiers who applied for our help. So we will need your assistance as usual: these guys will be able to use their chance only on the condition we support them. Every hryvnia donated to the accounts of the «Bioengineering Rehabilitation for Wounded» project, is directed to our defenders’ restoration, and you can always track out the income and expenses in our transparent online report. Dear friends, please join us, because together we constitute their only support.
