Management of war-related facial wounds in Ukraine: the Lviv military hospital experience

The Lviv Military Medical Centre is the main hospital responsible for the management of wounded military personnel in Western Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion of our country in 2022, we have had to rapidly adapt our department to managing a large influx of complex facial battle injuries. These wounds are generally from large explosive fragments such as from shells and commonly produce avulsive defects of the facial bones and overlying soft tissues. Using representative cases, we aim to discuss management of these extensive injuries and guide the future direction of our service, particularly in surgical training such as microvascular anastomosis.