On the Front Lines: Ukraine Updates
MedCAD continues to support facial reconstruction surgery for Ukrainian soldiers through custom implant technology and close collaboration with surgeons on the ground. This post serves as a running list of updates, media coverage, and missions related to our involvement in Ukraine’s ongoing humanitarian and medical crisis.
Oculofacial Surgery and the War in Ukraine
August 21, 2025
Dr. Jorge Corona was a guest on the August 21 edition of The Oculofacial Podcast, “Oculofacial Surgery and the War in Ukraine.” The conversation is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.
Rebuilding Faces, Lives and a Sense of Self in Ukraine
August 7, 2025
The New York Times recently published a photo essay with profiles of four individuals who have suffered severe facial injuries in the war in Ukraine. Though our technology and surgical partners aren’t part of the story, we’re sharing it because it shows the scope of the problem in war-town areas.
The opening paragraph of the article applies to so many of our patients — here and abroad — and reminds us of why we do the work we do:
“The face is the window to identity and emotion. To have it disfigured is not merely to be wounded, but to be unmoored from one’s own sense of self.”
This gift link will take you to the article without paywall.
Rebuilding the battle-torn faces — and lives — of Ukrainian troops
January 30, 2025
The Washington Post featured a photo of Dr. Jorge Corona performing surgery in Kyiv on its front page on January 3, as part of the article “Rebuilding the battle-torn faces — and lives — of Ukrainian troops.” The article explains the urgent need for facial reconstruction surgery, and tells the stories of soldiers who are going through the process. MedCAD is proud to support Dr. Corona and his colleagues in their missions of healing to Ukraine.
Restoring Humanity on the Front Lines
December 5, 2024
In our last issue, we told you about Dr. Jorge Corona, a Dallas-based surgeon who was on his way to Ukraine in a trip arranged by LEAP Global Missions. In his bags, he was carrying MedCAD-produced implants to reconstruct the faces of several soldiers with severe munitions trauma. Passenger and cargo arrived safely, though conditions in Kyiv are proving challenging.
“The surgeons there were very happy with what we were able to deliver,” says Dr. Corona. The ability to manufacture the implants here in the US to patient-matched standards means not only better outcomes but less time in the OR in a place where time is at a premium. “The Russians like to attack at night to disrupt people’s sleep,” he says, explaining the drone attacks that sent his entourage to emergency shelters three times during the trip. On what rest they could get, Dr. Corona and Ukrainian surgeons performed one successful orbital surgery with MedCAD technology; the Ukrainian doctors have successfully used another implant and are scheduled to use one more soon.
“This is about restoring these soldiers’ humanity in the eyes of others,” says Dr. Corona. “Even though some of them will have completely lost vision, they can be seen…by family, by friends, by strangers. As these young people transition to other phases of their lives, they can now present a face that is recognizable.”
Dr. Corona will return to Kyiv in May, and has already set aside room for MedCAD in his luggage.
Dr. Jorge Corona meets with a Ukrainian soldier in a Kyiv hospital. Dr. Corona and custom MedCAD implants are helping him and other Ukrainian patients return to a more normal life.
A Mission to Ukraine
October 30, 2024
MedCAD products aren’t just on the cutting edge—they’re on the front lines, and in the news.
As this newsletter reaches your inbox, Dr. Jorge Corona is likely in his surgical scrubs in Kyiv, assisting in four secondary surgeries on soldiers with severe orbital and maxillofacial injuries, part of a trip arranged by LEAP Global Missions. Because munitions often create trauma that can’t be solved with off-the-shelf implants, he has partnered with MedCAD to create custom reconstructions.
The process is the same one we’d use for a surgery just across town, though with some added logistical challenges. Dr. Corona and our staff have consulted in conference calls linking Ukraine and Texas, and brainstormed ways to transfer large image files out of a conflict zone. Couriers—and Dr. Corona himself—have hand carried the devices and implants to Poland for transport into Kyiv for the procedures.
Since both parties are Dallas-based—Dr. Corona is a surgeon at Oculoplastic Associates of Texas, and MedCAD’s facilities are just a few miles away—this cross-town collaboration was intriguing enough to attract media attention. The story has recently been featured in an article in D Magazine, and was covered by local broadcast news outlets including NBC, CBS, and other outlets including Fox and Telemundo.