A Maryland prosthetic clinic has been helping Ukrainian veterans who have been severely wounded in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
It’s been more than two years since Russia invaded Ukraine and during that time Medical Center Orthotics and Prosthetics in Silver Spring has been helping war veterans try to get back to normal.
On Tuesday afternoon, James Vandersea fitted two veterans with prosthetic arms.
“This is overwhelming their system. Many of the soldiers that are coming to us haven’t had care in six months, nine months, sometimes up to a year,” Vandersea said.
The clinic gained experience with combat wounds working with Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, who have more “bottom-up type injury” — stepping on land mines or improvised explosive devices — which are unlike the injuries from the Russia-Ukraine war.
“These are from drones or missiles that are hitting from top down. So there’s a large number of upper extremity amputees with this war,” Vandersea said.
Another main difference is the time between when these soldiers are wounded and when they receive medical attention.
“In the U.S. conflicts, soldiers were able to get to care in about 45 minutes,” Vandersea said. “These soldiers … it’s six hours, nine hours, 12 hours before they’re getting medical care.”
During that extended period of time, tourniquets are applied, which can lead to even more damage resulting in amputations farther up the extremity.
The two veterans in the clinic, Pavlo Ponomarenko and Andrii Klymchuk, both had their arms amputated below the shoulders.
Both have been fitted with new prosthetic arms and are now learning to work them.
The arms use sensors that make them move at the elbow, rotate the wrists, and open and close the hand.
“Those sensors pick up the electrical activity from the muscles below the skin,” Vandersea said. “So on these two gentlemen, we’re picking up biceps and triceps.”
The two veterans are still learning to get used to them. Klymchuk said he learned that an ample amount of lubricating lotion is needed to securely attach his new arm.
Ponomarenko is still trying to discover the correct fit for the harness around his body. He is also dealing with phantom pain where his hand would be, he told WTOP through an interpreter.
Estimates indicate amputations are a growing problem. More than 20,000 in Ukraine had endured at least one amputation, according to last year’s estimates. Vandersea said he has heard that number has since grown to between 50,000 to 70,000.
Teams from Medical Center Orthotics and Prosthetics have visited Ukraine many times to help train medical professionals there.
“We do want to establish a footprint in Ukraine,” Vandersea said.
A team is currently scouting locations to open up a center there.
“We would like to get to have easier access for the soldiers.”
Though they and many of their fellow soldiers face grave injuries, Ponomarenko and Klymchuk said, “The spirit of Ukraine is unbreakable,” and they can’t wait to go back to their county.
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