Lviv opens Ukraine’s largest prosthetics and orthotics center with German government support

Ukraine's largest UNBROKEN Prosthetics and Orthotics Center was opened in Lviv. It will provide modern prostheses to more than 1,200 patients a year.

This is reported by the GIZ Ukraine, which participated in creating this center.

What is the problem?

Before the full-scale invasion of Russia, up to 90% of amputations in Ukraine were mainly of lower limbs at the level of the foot and lower leg. The majority of amputations were previously performed due to vascular diseases of the legs, like diabetes, or due to oncology and injuries received in road accidents.

However, due to Russia's aggression, prosthetics and rehabilitation have become acute problems for thousands of defenders, and the demand for such surgeries has increased a hundredfold.

"I was very impressed by how many people in Ukraine were seriously injured as a result of Russian strikes. Their number is increasing daily during this brutal war," GIZ board member Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven emphasizes.

What is the solution?

Svenja Schulze, the minister of economic cooperation and development of Germany, and Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, officially opened the UNBROKEN Prosthetics and Orthotics Center.

This project is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) as part of the Special Support Program for Ukraine / EU4ResilientRegions and is financed by the German Federal Government.

"The new UNBROKEN Prosthetics and Orthotics Center in Lviv facilitates patients' everyday lives: in the future, more than 1,200 patients will receive state-of-the-art prostheses here annually.

The training of specialists, who are currently in short supply, is also ongoing. On behalf of the German government, we will continue to work to ensure the much-needed health care in Ukraine," explains Hoven.

How does it work?

As they say, the building is designed for 30 workplaces. The center will produce about 1,200 prostheses per year.

The one-story building with a total area of 1,000 square meters houses:

• prosthesis manufacturing center,
• classrooms for teaching and research,
• rooms for fitting and testing prostheses by patients,
• courtyard for relaxation.

The center is equipped with the latest equipment (AFT, Romedis) for manufacturing upper and lower-limb prostheses.

"This is a unique center for Ukraine in terms of the speed of construction and the function it will perform. Our heroes—men, women, and children—will receive a thousand prostheses a year here. This is a great chance because today, many Ukrainians are fighting and need this help.

It will also be a large educational center for Ukrainian cities. The experience we will have here will be transferred to Ukrainian cities and cities worldwide.

We have one of the most modern rehabilitation centers, we produce prostheses, and we are building housing for the wounded nearby, so everything is integrated and at the highest level," said Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi.

They also added that an important part of the project is the training of prosthetists and orthopedists according to ISPO (International Society of Prosthetics and Orthopedics) standards.

With the support of the German government and GIZ Ukraine, about 60 people participate in training programs of various levels. Successful graduates receive international certificates.

According to Oleh Samchuk, the general director of the First Medical Association of Lviv, the newly created Center for Prosthetics and Orthotics UNBROKEN will increase the production capacity of prostheses in Ukraine. This means that it will help Ukrainians who need artificial limbs get them faster.

"We have to help as many people as possible, so we have to expand our production capabilities. Another challenge is the catastrophic shortage of specialists. We plan that this center will become a powerful educational hub in Ukraine," Samchuk said.

Over the past year, the center has hosted several training sessions for 51 prosthetic enterprise workers from different parts of Ukraine. On May 21, the next module of the world-renowned Human Study training will begin here. It will also be a place for research in prosthetics and the development of Ukrainian startups. 

"We sincerely thank our partners for supporting Ukrainians fighting for their freedom," Samchuk added.

The center will also develop materials for the national training program for Ukrainian prosthetics trainers, who will be able to transfer their experience to future specialists and increase the number of specialists in this field.

We remind you that a municipal center for prosthetics for military personnel will be created in the capital based on Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 12.