Dr Craig Jurisevic 

Cardiothoracic and Trauma Surgeon, Adelaide, South Australia

Craig Jurisevic is a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He has had an extensive career in conflict zone general, vascular and cardiothoracic surgery both as an individual in Israel, Palestine, Albania and Kosovo, and with the Australian Army in East Timor and Afghanistan. More recently he worked as a volunteer trauma surgeon in the Russo-Ukraine war between August and October 2022 and again between February and May 2023. He assisted with combat trauma surgery, surgical training and training of frontline units in tactical combat casualty care.

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War in Ukraine... Unrelenting Trauma on a Grand Scale​

The war in Ukraine has had a devastating effect on the people of Ukraine, it’s infrastructure and its health system. The number and severity of the combat casualties is unlike anything seen since the Second World War. This is a war of attrition, fought across a vast front line, through seasonal temperature extremes. The Ukrainian civilian and military medical system has risen to the challenge, but the strain is immense. I will describe these challenges and how the patient journey, from point of injury to specialist care unit, has evolved during the war.