A toe was transplanted to his hand: a complex operation for a defender in Mykolaiv

At the Mykolaiv City Hospital No. 4, surgeons performed a complex microsurgical operation on a 35-year-old Ukrainian serviceman wounded while defending Ukraine. The procedure is intended to restore his ability to grip and improve the function of his hand.

Specialists from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery used a modern reconstructive technique: they replaced the lost thumb with the second toe.

The transplant required extraordinary precision. To restore blood flow to the transplanted toe, the surgeons connected tiny arteries and veins. They sutured the nerve endings to restore sensation and repaired the tendons to enable movement.

The team of department specialists who performed the operation included:

• Yurii Shamrai;
• Mykhailo Leonenko;
• Daria Smoliar;
• Heorhii Topor.

The next stage for the patient is a lengthy rehabilitation. Its results will largely determine how fully the serviceman will be able to use his restored hand.

The hospital emphasizes that modern urban healthcare makes it possible not only to save the lives of servicemen, but also to help them return to an active life after severe injuries.

We wrote earlier:

• He lost both arms but flies an FPV drone: the story of a Mykolaiv marine
• Cooking independently again: a rehabilitation kitchen set up at a Mykolaiv hospital
• Rehabilitation at a new level: hi-tech exercise equipment arrives at a hospital in Korabelnyi District
• An end to phantom pain: Mykolaiv doctors find a way to relieve pain in places that aren’t there
• Polish surgeons reconstruct the face of a Mykolaiv region resident injured in Russian aggression