El Paso plastic surgeon visits war-torn Ukraine to perform reconstructive surgery on injured children

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A local plastic surgeon from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso recently made the trip to Ukraine to operate on children who have been injured in the ongoing war.

Dr. Shawn Diamond performed reconstructive surgery on children aged 2 to 19. They were mainly dealing with burn scars, congenital deformities, and other war injuries.

A total of 20 children were operated on.

ABC-7 spoke with Dr. Diamond Tuesday, and he says the experience was inspiring, especially to see these children lifting each other up during the unbelievably traumatic times.

“To see that resilience in young people who have gone through the worst, and come together, in a safe place and be kids again, is wonderful," said Dr. Diamond.

"It goes to show the human spirit and how much we can endure, and it was great," he added.

Dr. Diamond says his love for plastic surgery originated from his love for art and sculpting, something that actually led him to the medical field.

"I actually majored in ceramics in college, and then actually went through and graduated from art school, but knew I loved medicine and wanted to help people, and plastic surgery was just this perfect major of art, science, and medicine," said Diamond.

20 doctors from 3 countries ultimately collaborated to perform the surgeries over a period of 8 days.

The operations took place on the Polish border near Ukraine due to safety concerns. A spokesman for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center says some kids travelled over 24 hours for the medical care.