UKRAINIAN-AMERICAN NEUROFRIENDSHIP 2023, 2024 IS A SERIES OF SUCCESSFUL NEUROSURGEON MISSIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES TO LVIV, SUPPORTED BY THE RAZOM FOR UKRAINE FOUNDATION

The First Lviv Territorial Medical Association and the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Western Region are the largest neurosurgical hospitals in Lviv. Based on these hospitals, cooperation with the Razom For Ukraine Foundation started in 2017. In 2023, two Ukrainian-American NeuroFriendship missions (UANF2023) were conducted in Lviv, and in 2024, they expanded (UANF2024) to include Lviv, Dnipro, Kyiv, Uzhhorod, and Vinnytsia. U.S. doctors Kim Nelson, Maksim Shapiro, Luke Tomycz, John Forbes, and Rocco Armonda, along with Ukrainian doctors, arranged and performed over 60 complex emergency and scheduled micro neurosurgical operations and endovascular procedures for adults and children in Lviv. Operations persisted both in relatively calm times and during air raid alarms. American specialists were amazed by the mix of civilian and wartime conditions that doctors in Ukraine must navigate while carrying out highly complex surgeries. The success of the CO-PILOT mission was due to the genuine support from U.S. colleagues who helped to manage complex cases under technical limitations. Our doctors are immensely grateful to U.S. specialists for their bravery and assistance.