During the mission, Vitaliy was caught in the blast wave from an airstrike. His spine was broken, but the fighter understood it much later.

After the injury, the defender could barely walk, he was tormented by back pain, he began to slouch and could not perform combat tasks. When the Ukrainian defenders left Azovstal, Vitaliy was captured. His back hurt more, he felt that he was literally being pulled down.

Fortunately, Vitaliy was released from captivity. The fighter was hospitalized at the Dobrobut hospital in Kyiv. Our team of neurosurgeons examined the soldier and found a fracture of the 8th thoracic vertebra.

The patient required surgery to stabilize the thoracic spine. The neurosurgery team performed a posterior spinal fusion at levels 6-7 and 9-10 of the thoracic vertebrae — the doctors inserted screws that stabilized the spine and allowed it to grow. During the day, the patient was activated by a team of rehabilitation specialists. Two days after the operation, Vitaliy stood on his feet and could walk with a straight back. Within a week, his pain was gone.