A team of facial plastic surgeons will operate on war-related facial trauma cases and train local doctors as part of its fourth medical mission in Ukraine.
This month, the Educational and Research Foundation for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS Foundation) will embark on its Face to Face fourth medical mission to Ukraine.
Led by facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Manoj Abraham, MD, FACS, an interdisciplinary medical team of 22—including five facial plastic and reconstructive AAFPRS member surgeons—will be stationed at a hospital in Lviv, one of Ukraine’s largest cities located approximately four hours from the Polish border.
Face to Face is the humanitarian and educational surgical exchange program sponsored by the AAFPRS Foundation.
The medical mission team plans to operate on 30 patients with severe facial trauma as a result of war-related injuries. These complex procedures—lasting up to 12 hours—will include microvascular free flap surgeries and reconstruction using 3D, patient-specific implants. In addition to providing direct care, the surgeons will train local Ukrainian doctors in these techniques to build sustainable medical proficiency in the region.
“What we’re seeing in Ukraine is an overwhelming need for complex facial reconstruction that goes beyond basic trauma care,” says mission trip leader and Face to Face committee senior advisor Manoj T. Abraham, MD, FACS, in a release. “This mission isn’t just about performing life-changing surgeries—it’s about equipping local surgeons with the skills and tools to carry this work forward. That’s how we create a lasting impact.”
Among those being treated is a female patient who was at home in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, on Sept 11, 2024, when a missile struck her residential neighborhood. The blast caused massive facial trauma—a mine-blast injury requiring complex reconstructive intervention. Another female patient will be treated after sustaining a head injury from shelling in Bakhmut on Jan 1, 2023, when Russian forces launched an artillery attack, and her home was struck.
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