KSENIIA VERBIKA
At 14:17 hrs on Saturday 19 August 2023, TSN.ua (Television Service of News, Ukraine) reported ‘A 12-year-old girl is urgently taken to Kyiv by ambulance. The child is in serious condition.’ This girl is Kseniia Verbika (pictured with her Mum, Lada).
Russia had launched an attack on the theatre in the centre of Chernihiv. Ukrainian media reported that a public event featuring drone manufacturers had been taking place inside the theatre. The day marked the great Christian holiday of the Transfiguration, also known in Ukraine as ‘Apple Day’; The Apple Feast of the Saviour is an Eastern Slavic folk name for the Feast of the Transfiguration, which is observed in August; the holiday has a pre-Christian origin and is associated with harvesting of ripe fruits, especially apples.
Kseniia and her friend had been out, celebrating this important day; she suffered multiple explosive injuries, notably to her right forearm and to her right thigh; her friend’s leg was broken. Initial first aid to stem bleeding was administered at one of Chernihiv’s medical facilities before Kseniia was immediately transferred to Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialised Hospital via ambulance. Upon admission, she was conscious, responsive, and able to answer questions; but, Kseniia faces a long and complex road to recovery.
The surgeons at Okhmatdyt have provided a summary of their medical interventions to date:
19 August 2023: Primary surgical wound management of the right thigh.
20 August 2023: Wound management of the right forearm, removal of foreign body.
Debridement of soft tissues in the right forearm.
Application of an External Fixation Device to the right elbow.
Kseniia was then transferred to the intensive care unit for further treatment.
22 August 2023: Excisional wound management of the right forearm was initiated.
Treatment using a VAC (Vacuum-Assisted Closure) device began.
23 August 2023: Kseniia was transferred to the microsurgery department for further treatment.
12 September 2023: Closure of the soft tissue defect of the right forearm using a rotated skin-subcutaneous flap, the first stage.
The affected part of the arm was covered with a full-thickness skin graft harvested from the abdomen (sutured to the abdomen).
Kseniia had exposed muscles, and there wasn’t enough skin to cover the wound. The surgeons stitched the wound to close the blood vessels and covered the area. Because a large wound can’t be simply stitched up, a graft won’t survive, so the surgeons preserved the blood vessels by suturing Kseniia’s arm to her abdomen. Knesiia returned home for two weeks to continue her rehabilitation. She returned to Okhmatdyt and, following successful graft integration, her forearm was detached from her abdomen; her recovery continues.
The next stage will be at the beginning of December when Knesiia returns to Okhmatdyt for further surgery. This will involve the harvesting of a small bone from her leg with its vessels for transplantation to the forearm.
You can read about the Chernihiv theatre atrocity at:
Kseniia is, rightly, one of our ‘Heroes’; we wish her well as she continues to recover from her shocking injuries inflicted by the invaders; we will follow her progress.