North Texas surgeons working in Ukraine to ease "in-the-mirror" reminders of war
"Once you see war firsthand, it just, it's so sad," said Dallas oculoplastic surgeon Dr. Jorge Corona. "Because it's not just the soldiers and their families that suffer, but the whole country."
Corona is a part of a group of North Texans tapping a combination of technology, surgical skill and compassion to ease the "in-the-mirror" reminders of war, with ocular facial reconstruction for wounded soldiers and civilians.
"It's incredible how sad it is to see them, their faces destroyed," said Corona. "But, by restoring their faces, we feel that we are restoring their humanity."
For most, the horrors of war have never been any closer than video clips. But for Corona, the mission became one of moral principles.
"Well, when you look at history, in 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Europe," said Corona. "Now we are in the 21st century, and the same thing is happening with Russia invading Ukraine. I'm not a soldier. But I didn't want to stay on the sidelines."
Wielding a scalpel instead of a weapon, Corona and the team were often forced to retreat to bomb shelters but made the most of every moment.
Following a three-hour surgery, a Ukrainian soldier's face has been rebuilt using a titanium implant manufactured in North Texas at MedCAD.
"MedCAD is a patient-specific medical device company and everything we make is for one patient for one surgery," said MedCAD President and CEO Nancy Hairston.
Hairston said the process begins with patient CT data sent from Ukraine.
"And from there, we design a surgical kit that includes implants and surgical devices that allow them to kind of get in and get out when they're in the OR most efficiently as possible to provide the best, the most optimal type of reconstruction that's possible," said Hairston.
Organizers say the Plano manufacturing facility is where "science meets art", but it's clear that compassion is the driving force.
"I mean, it's just incredible to see how this will be in their lives forever," Corona said.
"And these individuals that we're working with are getting, their, as Jorge said, their humanity back," said Hairston. "That they can look in the mirror and not have that reminder that they were in a horribly traumatic situation. And it's very moving for our team to learn and hear the stories. It's sort of buoys everybody's day to hear that we've made such a difference."
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