Then came the recent reconstructive surgery mission led by Houston Methodist’s Anthony Brissett, MD, vice chair of the Department of Otolaryngology and Chief of the Division of Facial Plastic Surgery, and including head and neck surgeon Joshua Kain, MD, anesthesiologist Burke Bradley, MD, and surgical technician Heather Leard.

“The face is a unique structure that defines us, characterizes who we are and is a concept of beauty, both form and function. This work allows the people of the Ukraine to return to more of a sense of normalcy and improved function as well,” Brissett said. Kain and the surgical team that worked on the 20-year-old made incisions in front of both of the soldier’s ears and then created a tunnel from one side of his face to the other. They took a 12- to 14-inch nerve from the soldier’s leg to connect the working right side of the face to the left side. “The reanimating went very well. He had been living with the expectation he would always be paralyzed,” said Kain, Houston Methodist Hospital Department of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Weill Cornell Medical College.

About the Mission Team

About the Mission Team

The mission was sponsored by the non-profit “Face the Future Foundation,” an organization Brissett has been involved with since 2006. Face the Future has gone to Russia for medical missions for several years but suspended mission trips to Russia when they invaded the Ukraine. Brissett also serves as the group vice president of Research and Humanitarian Affairs for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “Although there is a robust health care system in Ukraine, there is very limited experience in the management of trauma and reconstruction. As such, the wounded are left with devastating injuries and without adequate treatment,” said Brissett who worked for months beforehand to create channels and partnerships for the success of this mission. “What makes this mission unique is the dual focus on education and intervention with the goal of building capacity,” said Brissett of the trip to Ivano-Frankivsk in northwest Ukraine that was held from March 25 to April 1. Ukrainian surgeons were provided with a daylong surgical symposium that drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100. Likewise, a daylong nursing training session had 400 registrants but was limited to 60, based on capacity. After the teaching sessions, four days of surgeries followed and were live streamed to more than 400 surgeons who had registered to watch from their home locations.

“Working with the surgeons allows them to understand complex management techniques that can address facial deformities,” Brissett added. Houston Methodist anesthesiologist Burke Bradley, MD, and wife Amy Bradley, who is a nurse, went to Ukraine together as part of a family goal to volunteer their specialized skills to the war effort. The couple had to go to a bomb shelter during one of the air raids. “We told our family, when we agreed to go to the Ukraine, that we would do all in our power to stay safe,” Dr. Bradley said. “It was definitely a unique experience.” Bradley ended up working with three Ukrainian residents who are anesthesiologists in training and would not leave his side because of the learning experience being offered by the Americans. He was in a small working area and, at one time, had 15 people squeezed in to observe. “They were gobbling up everything I could teach them. Their enthusiasm to learn was exciting,” Bradley said. He said he was interested to see many older patients in their 50s who had been fighting. “These patriots were inspiring. The least I could do was to make their pain less and their surgeries go smoother.” He said his job as an anesthesiologist can be a tough one for patients with facial injuries because anesthesia is all about breathing. With an obstructed or semi-obstructed airway, the job can be harder.

The mission itself was a culmination of planning and research to do the most good in the shortest amount of time. Susan Truax, assistant to Mas Takashima, MD, FACS, professor and chairman of the department, provided administrative support and served as domestic administrative liaison for the mission that continues to meet virtually to discuss the progress of the Ukrainian patients. “Our job is to work ourselves out of a job,” Brissett said, pointing out this is actually a five- to 10-year strategic plan. The physicians will continue to follow up with patients until treatment comes to full fruition. For six months, the team evaluated 100 patients. They did virtual surgical planning and planned for each individual patient with products and supplies that would be needed. They knew injuries were blast and ballistic types of injuries — high-impact injuries that result in significant injuries to bone and soft tissue and structures of the face and body. Those war damages included orbital injuries and jaw injuries. Many patients were blind, lost vision in one eye or both or injury to hearing.