Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ihor Stoianovskyi

The presentation “Reconstruction of Residual Limbs after Combat Injury” focuses on the surgical management of complicated residual limbs that are not ready for prosthetic fitting because of insufficient length, unfavourable shape, inadequate or scarred soft-tissue coverage, symptomatic neuromas, heterotopic ossification, bone spurs, persistent infection, or osteomyelitis.

Using clinical cases from Superhumans Center, including procedures performed in cooperation with the Czech MEDEVAC team, the presentation demonstrates revision surgery, treatment of neuromas and skeletal complications, and reconstruction with local and free flaps. It highlights how preservation of residual-limb length and restoration of durable soft-tissue coverage can create the conditions required for successful prosthetic rehabilitation.

The central message is that reconstructive surgery should be considered an integral part of modern amputation care. Early cooperation between the reconstructive surgeon, prosthetist, rehabilitation specialist, and the patient is essential for achieving the best possible functional outcome.

Ihor Stoianovskyi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Surgery No. 1 and Head of the Department of Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery at the University Hospital of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University. He also works as a reconstructive surgeon at Superhumans Center in Lviv, Ukraine.

He graduated from Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University in 1996 and completed his postgraduate training in surgery in 1999. In 1997, he undertook additional surgical training at the University Hospital in Plzeň, Czech Republic, affiliated with Charles University. In 2002, he earned the Ukrainian Candidate of Medical Sciences degree, equivalent to a PhD, after defending his dissertation entitled “Intraoperative Prevention of Occupational HIV Infection in Surgeons.”

Throughout his professional career, Dr Stoianovskyi has worked in hospitals in Lviv as a surgeon, head of a surgical department, and medical director. His clinical experience encompasses general surgery, burn surgery, management of polytrauma, hand surgery, reconstructive surgery, and reconstructive microsurgery. Since 2002, he has also been actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has devoted his clinical practice to treating the consequences of war-related injuries in both military personnel and civilians. He has repeatedly participated in complex joint reconstructive procedures together with colleagues from the Czech MEDEVAC programme and collaborates with European reconstructive surgical teams.

A major focus of his current clinical and academic work is the reconstruction of complex combat-related extremity injuries and complicated residual limbs. This includes restoration of reliable soft-tissue coverage, preservation of residual-limb length, treatment of symptomatic neuromas and infectious complications, and surgical preparation for successful prosthetic rehabilitation.

prof. MUDr. Břetislav Lipový, Ph.D. et Ph.D., MBA, LL.M., FICS

Lipový B.¹, Kempný T,². Holoubek J.³, Votruba T.⁴, Smejkal P.^5
1 Department of Burns Medicine, Kralovske Vinohrady University Hospital and Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
² MEDICent Clinic, Ostrava, Czech Republic
³ Department of Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
⁴ Department of Plastic Surgery, Hospital Ceske Budejovice, České Budějovice 1, Czech Republic
⁵ Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

This presentation goes beyond the surgical challenges of war. It reflects our experience in Ukraine, where burn care, reconstructive surgery, and microsurgery are performed in an environment increasingly shaped by multidrug-resistant pathogens. The daily confrontation with antimicrobial resistance is fundamentally changing the rules of infection management and, in many cases, directly influences the possibilities and outcomes of complex reconstruction.

Alongside our surgical activities, we therefore focus on the development and translation of novel antimicrobial strategies, particularly for topical treatment of wounds infected or colonized by resistant bacteria. Our long-term research explores alternative antimicrobial agents and their combinations, together with innovative delivery platforms designed to bring effective therapy directly to the site of infection.

Building on our clinical experience in Ukraine, we also aim to establish a unique collection of clinically relevant resistant pathogens isolated from complex war-related wounds. This collection will provide a preclinical platform for testing novel antimicrobial agents and their combinations, with the ultimate goal of identifying effective strategies against pathogens for which conventional antibiotics are increasingly failing.