ODIA Defense Briefing - Triaging Tomorrow: Insights from the Ukraine War

Description

Join us for an intimate fireside chat with trauma surgeons from Ukraine who have worked on the frontlines of one of the most technologically advanced conflicts in modern history. As autonomous systems and evolving ballistics have reshaped the battlefield, they have reshaped the operating room as well. Hear firsthand how these surgeons have adapted their approach to traumatic injury in real time — and what those hard-won insights mean for the future of trauma care. This candid conversation is one you don’t want to miss!

SPEAKERS
DR. MARK MIMS
Moderator

Mark M. Mims, MD, is a double board–certified otolaryngologist and facial plastic & reconstructive surgeon at OU Health and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where he serves as an Associate Professor, Medical Director of the OU Physicians ENT Clinic, and Associate Program Director for the Otolaryngology residency. 

His clinical and academic work centers on complex facial trauma, reconstruction, facial nerve disorders, and surgical education, with peer-reviewed publications and national presentations spanning reconstructive techniques, wound healing, and trauma-related care.

Dr. Mims is the founder and director of Operation Ukraine at OU Health, an internationally recognized U.S.-based educational observership and hands-on training program that has supported Ukrainian surgeons during the ongoing war through advanced reconstructive and trauma-focused skill building. 

He also serves in leadership and advisory roles with multiple Ukraine-focused professional initiatives and committees, helping strengthen two-way collaboration between U.S. and Ukrainian clinicians.

DR.VOLODYMYR ODNALKO
Panelist

Volodymyr M. Odnolko, MD, is a Ukrainian general surgeon with more than a decade of experience in high-acuity emergency and trauma care, with a particular focus on minimally invasive and reconstructive techniques. He is currently Head of the Department of Advanced Technologies, Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery at the Main Medical Clinical Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Kyiv), where he helps lead operative management of complex injuries requiring both decisive damage-control surgery and thoughtful reconstruction. 

Prior to this role, Dr. Odnolko served as an attending general surgeon at Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 1 for over a decade (2011–2023), caring for a wide spectrum of urgent surgical disease and traumatic injury. He completed his medical degree at Bogomolets National Medical University and formal postgraduate training through a general surgery internship based at Kyiv City Clinical Hospitals No. 1 and No. 3. 

Dr. Odnolko’s operative skill set spans open and laparoscopic surgery, trauma surgery, emergency general surgery, and reconstructive surgery—an intersection that has become increasingly vital as evolving ballistics and operational constraints reshape both battlefield triage and definitive surgical care.

DR. VASYL VORONETS
Panelist

Vasyl Voronets, MD, is a Ukrainian orthopedic traumatologist and military surgeon based in Dnipro, Ukraine specializing in the surgical management of complex limb trauma, including combat-related injuries. As a surgeon at the Military Medical Clinical Centre of the East Region, he provides high-acuity trauma care—from emergency stabilization to fracture management—for both service members and civilian casualties. 

Dr. Voronets routinely rotates to stabilization units and deploys with forward surgical groups, where he helps lead immediate damage-control care in austere environments and supports rapid decision-making under pressure. 

 His clinical interests include limb-injury surgery, minimally invasive techniques (with a focus on knee and shoulder arthroscopy), and the long-arc continuum from battlefield injury to functional recovery. 

He earned his medical degree in General Medicine from Zaporizhzhia State Medical University (2011–2017) and completed a master’s degree at the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy (2017–2020), graduating as a surgeon and tactical-level military officer.

He has pursued targeted postgraduate training in ultrasound diagnostics, contemporary traumatology/orthopaedics, arthroscopy, and advanced trauma exposure through the ASSET+ cadaver course (Warsaw, 2024).

DR. BOHDAN SIRKO
Panelist

Bohdan Sirko, MD, is a neurosurgeon specializing in emergency and trauma neurosurgery, with a focus on severe traumatic brain injury, spinal trauma, and penetrating cranio-spinal wounds from combat. He practices at the Regional Clinical Hospital - Mechnikov in Dnipro—a high-volume, Level I–equivalent tertiary trauma center that has become a key hub for wartime casualty care. 

Since joining the Department of Emergency Medical Care in 2024, Dr. Sirko has delivered advanced neurosurgical care in a high-tempo environment, independently performing 400+ neurosurgical procedures, many of them urgent trauma cases, and contributing to the management of 800+ complex neurosurgical patients. In addition to hospital-based trauma work, he has participated in field surgical operations—supporting triage, stabilization, and evacuation of wounded soldiers alongside multidisciplinary teams. 

Dr. Sirko completed neurosurgery residency training at Mechnikov Hospital and earned his MD from Dnipro State Medical University. His ongoing professional development includes targeted training in combat-injury reconstruction, trauma systems, and battlefield medicine, and he is a co-author of peer-reviewed publications on penetrating brain injuries.