Specialists from the surgical team of the Active Operations Department of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) have carried out a complex life-saving operation in the open sea, on a platform with no access to a hospital or a full operating room, ArmyInform reports.
“The tourniquets were applied later than they ideally should have been. As a result, blood loss increased, and overall hypothermia further complicated the situation,” explains a member of the surgical team, known as Tochini.
Critical injuries and a 45-minute fight for life
The wounded soldier sustained a mine-blast injury, amputation, massive blood loss, hemorrhagic shock, and a traumatic brain injury. Initial aid was provided by frontline combat medics, who applied tourniquets and stopped the bleeding.
The most challenging phase was transferring the casualty between platforms in open-sea conditions.
Thanks to the coordinated actions of surgeons, assistants, and support medics, the soldier’s condition was stabilized. All resuscitation and surgical procedures were completed in 45 minutes, faster than the planned one hour.
“The entire operation, which was resuscitation and surgical care, lasted 45 minutes. We planned for up to an hour and managed it faster,” one of the medics notes.
Outcome: rehabilitation and return to life
As a result of the timely and professional actions of HUR medics, the wounded soldier is now undergoing rehabilitation and has already taken his first steps using a prosthesis.
“The patient is already training and trying to walk on a prosthetic limb. This is a very short period after such a severe injury,” the medical team reports.
For HUR surgical teams, such conditions are not an exception but standard practice. Operations are conducted on platforms, boats, helicopters, and in basements or temporary facilities.
“We are all trained to the same high standard and can replace one another. This is probably one of the best examples of such preparation among Ukraine’s security services,” one of the medics adds.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced the winners of the NATO Innovation Challenge “Medical Assistance in Accessible and Vulnerable Combat Spaces”.
First place went to a Canadian portable dialysis unit for field use, which effectively replaces the function of the kidney.
It requires only 2–4 liters of water per cycle, compared to 200–500 liters for standard devices, and is compact enough to be carried in a backpack.
