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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
60-centimeter blood clot and 8 hours of surgery: Kharkiv surgeons saved the leg of a wounded fighter
At the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region, after removal of a 60-centimeter blood clot, the injured defender’s damaged vessel was restored. This allowed saving the patient’s leg.
This case was reported on the hospital’s Facebook page.
"8-hour highly complex operation was performed by vascular surgeons at the Kharkiv hospital. The doctors essentially sewed a new vein for the patient with a diameter of nearly two centimeters and a length of about eight. Before that, they removed a thrombus measuring 60 centimeters. In this way they saved the infantryman’s leg," the post says.
A 36-year-old wounded person was brought to Kharkiv from the Izyum district. He had multiple abdominal and leg injuries, and the patient was in extremely severe condition. Colleagues from the frontline surgical group managed to stop the bleeding by tying off the damaged vessel.
According to the resident of the vascular surgery department, Ostap Klymyk, the soldier had a vein damaged through which all blood drains from the leg. He arrived at the hospital showing signs of acute venous insufficiency.
"We could operate on him only the next day—after our anesthesiologists stabilized his condition. Because we knew the operation would be quite lengthy," Klymyk said.
He added that a thrombus formed in the damaged vessel, stretching from the belt area to the knee.
"It was a solid thrombus about 60 cm long. Because blood does not drain from the vessel, it pools, becomes thicker, and turns into a thrombus. This thrombus could have led to the patient’s disability. But if we had only removed the thrombus and left things as they are—another thrombus would form there," explained Klymyk.
Therefore, the surgeons’ main task was not only to remove the thrombus but also to restore the damaged vessel to ensure normal blood outflow from the leg.
"The diameter of that vessel is two centimeters, the length is around eight centimeters. The best material for such reconstructions is the patient’s own veins. However, there is no two-centimeter vein in the body that can be taken without causing unwanted consequences."
"What did we do? We took a large subcutaneous vein from the opposite leg, sliced it along its length, divided it into four eight-centimeter segments, and sewed them together to make one sizeable vessel. This is indeed a highly complex operation that is performed very rarely," emphasized Klymyk.
36-year-old Oleksandr said he was injured while approaching a position. He says he serves as an infantryman. The explosion occurred a few meters from him.
"We were approaching the position, I’m an infantryman. Ten meters from me, an FPV grenade exploded. We tried to shoot it down... The sky there is very dirty. Another comrade was wounded, but in a mild condition. He has both arms, the soft tissues were affected," the defender said.
The hospital also noted that his wife came from abroad to visit the patient.
Now the swelling has subsided on Oleksandr’s operated leg. Rehabilitation for the serviceman has begun.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "60-сантиметровий тромб і 8 годин операції: харківські хірурги врятували ногу пораненому бійцю". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
