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Scientific Program

ACT Conference Program

Preliminary Scientific Program

Integrated Approaches to Combat Trauma: From Acute Care to Reconstruction
(as of November 11, 2025)
February 6-7, 2026 | Budapest, Hungary

Friday, February 6, 2026 - HALL A
08:30 - 10:00
Session 1: How to Prepare for Combat Casualties
Chairs: Levente Várhelyi, Hungary & Yoram Klein, Israel
08:30 - 08:45 Welcome Remarks
Introductions, objectives, and overview of challenges in combat-related injury management - Amir Arami & Zvika Steinberger, Israel
Welcome to Budapest, housekeeping, sponsors acknowledgement - Lenkei Balazs, Hungary & Andrii Lysak, Ukraine
08:45 - 10:00 Lectures
  • Combat trauma historic perspective - Yoram Klein, Israel (20 min)
  • Modern war - statistics - TBD (10 min)
  • Modern war - statistics - Shani Kesari, Israel (10 min)
  • Building orthoplastic team - Andrew Bauder, USA (10 min)
  • Resource Allocation chain supply (10 min) (Industry Lecture)
  • Insights from the Czech team working in Ukraine - Jakub Holoubek, Czech Republic (10 min)
10:00 - 10:20 Coffee Break & Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
10:20 - 12:10
Session 2: Acute Care of Combat-Related Injuries
Chairs: Levente Várhelyi, Hungary & Yoram Klein, Israel
10:20 - 11:30 Lectures
  • Blast injuries explained - Levente Várhelyi, Hungary (10 min)
  • Trauma perspective vs. orthoplastic perspective in modern war - Yoram Klein, Amir Arami & Zvika Steinberger, Israel (20 min)
  • Acute Care in austere environment - Andrew Bauder, USA (10 min)
  • Limb preservation in the field - Scott Levin (10 min)
  • Hemorrhage Control - and other novel field treatment - Shani Kesari, Israel (10 min)
  • Monitoring compartment syndrome - Edward Harvey, Canada (10 min)
11:30 - 12:10 Case Discussions: Acute Care
Moderator: Yoram Klein, Israel
Panel Members: Levente Várhelyi, Hungary, Assaf Acker, Israel & TBD

Case from Israel - Assaf Acker, Israel
Case from Hungary - TBD
Case from Ukraine - TBD
12:10 - 13:00 Lunch Break & Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
13:00 - 15:00
Session 3: Soft Tissue Reconstruction
Chairs: Zvika Steinberger, Israel, Andrew Bauder, USA & TBD
13:00 - 14:10 Lectures
  • Decision-Making amputation vs salvage case presentations - Zvika Steinberger, Israel (10 min)
  • The use of spare parts surgery - Marco Innocenti, Italy (10 min)
  • Staged reconstruction of extremities - TBD (10 min)
  • Soft Tissue Reconstruction: does it need a flap? When? How to temporize the wound? - Zvika Steinberger, Israel (10 min)
  • Microvascular free flaps vs. local flaps; fasciocutaneous vs muscle flaps - TBD (10 min)
  • Vascular considerations - TBD, USA (10 min)
  • Functional unit defects and reconstruction - Scott Levin, USA (10 min)
14:10 - 15:00 Case Discussions: Soft Tissue Reconstruction
Moderator: TBD
Panel Members: Scott Levin, USA, Zvika Steinberger, Israel, Andrew Bauder, USA & TBD

Case from USA - Andrew Bauder, USA
Case from Hungary - TBD
Case from Ukraine - TBD
15:00 - 15:30 Coffee Break & Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
15:30 - 17:50
Session 4: Skeletal Reconstruction
Chairs: Marco Innocenti, Italy & Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA
15:30 - 16:50 Lectures
  • Handling Large Segmental Bone defects - Nonvascularized bone grafting and Masquelet (cage vs traditional) - Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Bone substitutes - indications and applications - TBD (10 min)
  • 3D planning bone defects - Yurii Yarmoliuk, Ukraine (10 min)
  • Handling Large Segmental Bone defects - free vascularized - Marco Innocenti, Italy (10 min)
  • Handling Large Segmental Bone defects - bone transport - Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Joint Defect Strategies - Preserving the Joint in Setting of Significant Peri-Articular Bone Loss - Marc Loebenberg, Israel (10 min)
  • Warfare injuries to the wrist: Fusions and motion-preserving procedures - Serhii Tymoshenko, Ukraine (10 min)
16:50 - 17:40 Case Discussions
Moderator: Lenkei Balazs, Hungary

From Defect to Function: The Role of Microsurgery in restoration of upper limb function - Jakub Holoubek, Czech Republic
Case from Israel: Zvika Steinberger, Israel
17:40 - 17:50 Open Q&A
17:50 - 18:00 Day 1 Summary:
Lenkei Balazs, Hungary, Andrii Lysak, Ukraine, Amir Arami & Zvika Steinberger, Israel
- Main messages from the day
- Announcements for Day 2 sessions
18:00 End of Day 1
Saturday, February 7, 2026 - HALL A
08:00 - 10:00
Session 5: Residual Limb Management
Chairs: Amy Moore, Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA & TBD
08:00 - 09:00 Lectures
  • Residual limbs: Surgical design, shaping, and closure techniques for maximum prosthetic potential - TBD
  • Upper extremity amputation levels - what is the best level for modern prosthetics? Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Body anchored prosthesis - Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Upper Extremity Limb Loss & Reconstruction: Current Concepts & Evolving Strategies - Oleksandr Haluzynsky, Ukraine (10 min)
  • Pain Management following residual limb loss - Amy Moore, USA (10 min)
  • Upper Extremity transplantation - Scott Levin, USA (10 min)
09:00 - 09:30 Panel: Lower Limb - What to do with the nerve during amputation?
Moderator: Amy Moore, USA
Panel Members: Andrii Lysak, Ukraine, Amy Moore, USA, Amir Arami, Israel, Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA & TBD
09:30 - 10:00 The future of prosthetics (Industry Lecture)
10:00 - 10:30 Coffee Break, Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
10:30 - 12:30
Session 6: Peripheral Nerve Injuries & Nerve Pain
Chairs: Amir Arami, Israel, Andrii Lysak, Ukraine & Amy Moore, USA
10:30 - 11:30 Lectures
  • Combat Related Peripheral Nerve Injuries CRPNI: Epidemiology, Surgical findings - Jordan Lachnish, Israel (10 min)
  • CRPNI: treatment dilemmas - Amir Arami, Israel (10 min)
  • Gunshot injuries of the peripheral nerves management - Andrii Lysak, Ukraine (10 min)
  • Nerve Transfers strategies: Upper & Lower Extremity - Amy Moore, USA (10 min)
  • Comprehensive Nerve Pain Algorithm - Amy Moore, USA (10 min)
  • Industry Lecture
11:30 - 12:30 Case Discussions: Combat related Peripheral Nerve injuries
Moderator: Jordan Lachnish, Israel
Panel Members: Amy Moore, USA, Amir Arami, Israel, Andrii Lysak, Ukraine, Lenkei Balazs, Hungary

Case from Israel: Amir Arami, Israel
Case from Hungary: A hidden peripheral nerve injury, a case report - Maja Viviana Rosero, Hungary
Case from Ukraine: Andrii Lysak, Ukraine
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break & Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
13:30 - 14:50
Session 7: Infection Management in Combat Injuries
Chairs: Andrii Lysak, Ukraine, Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA
13:30 - 14:30 Lectures
  • Gunshot Osteomyelitis - TBD
  • War injuries and infection - what to expect? Fungal & Atypical Infections - Dana Yelin, Israel (10 min)
  • Approaches to minimize/treat Infection - TBD
  • Antibiotic Delivery Devices tips & tricks - Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Treating Infected Tibial Canals - Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA (10 min)
  • Musculoskeletal reconstruction in a septic environment: Identifying common pitfalls and establishing an optimal strategy - Vlagyimir Uzlov, Hungary (10 min)
14:30 - 14:50 Panel: Consensus on Treatment and Prophylaxis
Moderator: Dana Yelin, Israel
Panel Members: Vlagyimir Uzlov, Levente Várhelyi, Hungary, Benjamin "Kyle" Potter, USA & TBD
14:50 - 15:20 Coffee Break & Visit Exhibition - EXHIBITION AREA
15:20 - 17:15
Session 8: Rehabilitation & Future Directions
Chairs:
15:20 - 16:20 Lectures
  • Comprehensive Rehab Pathways: Coordinating physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological support from day one - TBD
  • Advanced prosthesis care in the cases of upper and lower limb amputations. The use of modern motion analysis labs in gait and posture training - Dorottya Sáringer, Hungary
  • Psychological aspects of the civilian surgeon who started to work during the war, and becoming a war surgeon - Serhii Tymoshenko, Ukraine
16:20 - 17:00 Mitaka Best Combat Related Reconstructive Case
17:00 - 17:15 Conference Wrap-Up
17:15 End of Conference

Jason Souza,
Director of the Orthoplastic and Advanced Amputation Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

He is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Orthopaedics. He went to college at Brown University, where he studied neuroscience in addition to his pre-med studies. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed plastic surgery residency training at Northwestern University McGraw Medical Center. Dr. Souza also completed a research fellowship at the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now known as the Shirley Ability Lab). Dr. Souza has a particular interest in extremity and nerve injury reconstruction, as well as advanced amputation care. Dr. Souza is a veteran of the United States Navy, having achieved a rank of Commander in the Medical Corps while serving on active duty for 6 years. During his military service, Dr. Souza served as Director of the Peripheral Nerve Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. As a surgeon scientist, Dr. Souza has been at the forefront in advancing reconstructive surgical science for the care of the Wounded Warrior. He continues to serve on the Steering Committee for the Department of Defense Osseointegration Program, and in concert with his orthopedic partners, has performed the largest number of osseointegration surgeries in the United States, having provided this state-of-the-art care to almost 100 amputees to date.

Benjamin “Kyle” Potter, MD, FACS

Was recently appointed as a Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery and Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.  He is the immediate past Norman M. Rich Professor and Chair of the Uniformed Services University - Walter Reed Department of Surgery. Prior to that, he was the Director for Surgery (Surgeon-in-chief) at Walter Reed.  He was a founding Deputy Director and immediate past Director of the DoD Limb Optimization and Osseointegration Program and served as the Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon for the Amputee Program at Walter Reed for 16 years, while also serving as a musculoskeletal oncologist within the Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed and a consultant for the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute. 

Kyle deployed overseas in support of the Global War on Terrorism in 2011, 2016, and 2020 and is the 2018 past President of the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons.  He has authored or co-authored more than 350 publications and is a recipient or co-recipient of more than 40 funded grants.   He co-edited the 4th and 5th editions of the Atlas of Amputations and Limb Deficiencies for the AAOS, and serves as a Deputy Editor for Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. His research interests include trauma-related amputation techniques and outcomes (including osseointegration and targeted muscle reinnervation), combat-related heterotopic ossification, and predictive modeling of musculoskeletal trauma and oncologic outcomes. 

L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS

L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, is the Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery,
Former Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Professor of Surgery (Plastic
Surgery). He is also the Director of the Penn Musculoskeletal and Rheumatology Service Line.
As an accomplished clinician, his expertise focuses on surgery of the hand and upper extremity,
reconstructive microsurgical techniques for extremity reconstruction and limb salvage. His
research interests focus predominantly on extremity soft tissue reconstruction and vascularized
composite allotransplantation.
Dr. Levin heads the Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Program at Penn and directed
the teams that performed bilateral hand and arm transplants in three adults. In 2015, as Director
of the Pediatric Hand Transplantation Program of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he led the
team that performed the world’s first bilateral hand transplant in a child.
Dr. Levin also actively participates in senior leadership activities of many international and
national professional societies and associations.

Dr. Levin is responsible for developing the field of “Orthoplastic Surgery” and currently is Editor-
in-Chief of the journal Orthoplastic Surgery (Elsevier.)

Dr. Amir Arami, MD

Chairman, Department of Hand Surgery and Limb Salvage Surgery
Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer, Israel
Dr. Amir Arami is the Chairman of the Department of Hand Surgery and Limb Salvage
Surgery at Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest tertiary hospital. He leads a team of 14
surgeons in a department specializing in the full spectrum of hand surgery and
microsurgery, with expanded services in residual limb care and complex extremity
reconstruction.
Dr. Arami is a board-certified orthopedic and hand surgeon with advanced fellowship
training in microsurgery and peripheral nerve surgery. He has extensive clinical
experience in brachial plexus reconstruction, nerve transfers, and microsurgical limb
salvage. He plays a central role in the treatment of complex combat-related injuries at
Sheba Medical Center.
In addition to his clinical leadership, Dr. Arami is actively involved in academic and
translational research. He collaborates with the Israel Innovation Authority on a
preclinical study validating the porcine model for peripheral nerve regeneration and
neuropathic pain. He also serves as Chief Medical Officer of TENGable, a startup
developing implantable technologies for sensory restoration.
Dr. Arami regularly participates in international conferences and expert panels and has
contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications. He is committed to advancing the
fields of peripheral nerve surgery, extremity trauma reconstruction, and innovation in
limb restoration.

Yurii О. Yarmoliuk

General traumatologist of the armed forces of Ukraine

Сhief of Division of Injury

MD, Doctor of Sci (Med), Professor

 

Yurii Yarmoliuk is the Chief of Division of Injury, National military and medical

center "GVKG". General traumatologist of the armed forces of Ukraine.

Honored doctor of Ukraine, laureate of the State Prize in the field of medicine and

technology. Professor of the department of orthopedics and traumatology

O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University, Doctor of Medicine. 

More than 28 years of experience in the specialty. Participant of more than 125

conferences in Ukraine and abroad as a speaker. Permanent internships abroad:

England, Italy, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, USA, France, Israel, Austria.

Since 1997 Yurii Yarmoliuk has been working at the National military and medical

center "GVKG". Since 2022 general traumatologist of the armed forces of Ukraine.

Since 2014 he has been treating injuries from anti-personnel mines, gunshot wounds

of the limbs. He has relevant experience in the treatment of bone defects, as well as in

the treatment of gunshot osteomyelitis. His experience has formed the basis of many

monographs, methodical recommendations, scientific articles (including Scopus). In

the same direction, the existing system of providing medical care is being improved.

The implementation of modern surgical technologies and the development and

improvement of both external and internal fixators, surgical protocols when using

osteoplastic materials, which makes it possible to optimize the provision of medical

care.

Dr. Yoram Klein is the Director of the Trauma and acute care surgery unit at the Sheba Medical Center.

  • Education & Training:
    • M.D. from the Hebrew University – Hadassah School of Medicine in Jerusalem.
    • General Surgery Residency at Rambam Medical Center.
    • Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Florida.
  • Specializes in emergency and critical care surgery, with extensive experience in managing complex injuries, severe intraabdominal emergencies, and mass casualty preparedness and response. He has more than 30 years of experience in combat and civilian trauma care, including more than 20 mass casualty incidents.

 

Dr. Serhii Tymoshenko - PhD, Member of the European Board of Hand Surgery

Head Surgeon at the Department of Microsurgery and Reconstructive Hand Surgery,

Ukrainian State Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Dr. Tymoshenko has been working at the Ukrainian State Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics in Kyiv for the past 25 years. He currently serves as the President of the Ukrainian Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Dorottya Saringer - Physiotherapist

I  work as a physiotherapist at the Orthopedic-Traumatological Rehabilitation Department of the Rehabilitation Clinic at Semmelweis University.

I am involved in the treatment of the after care of trauma patients and post-amputation rehabilitation. Exercise and movement has always been an essential part of my life, and my goal is to share this passion with my patients by helping them regain mobility and confidence in their everyday lives.

 

Educations:

Dept. of Orthopaedics, Halland County Hospital, Halmstad, Sweden, 1991

Dept. of Trauma, Milan City Hopsital, Italy, 1992

Dept. of Hand Surgery, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Israel, 1999

DSTC, ETC

Memberships: APIMSF, Hungarian Society of Trauma, Hungarian Society of Orthopaedics, Hungarian Society of Emergency Medicine

Deployments: SFOR, Bosnia, 1998

KFOR German Field Hospital, Prizren, Kosovo, 2006-07

ISAF RCN German Medical Treatment Facility, Mazar e Sharif, Afghanistan, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13.

Languages: English, Italian, Russian

Publications: 96

 

First name: Levente

Surname: Várhelyi

Nationality: Hungarian

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 02.03.1968.

Unit: Hungarian Defence Forces Medical Centre Military Hospital, Budapest, Hungary since 1992

Rank: Colonel

Position: Chief Surgeon of the Hungarian Defence Forces, Head of  Department of Trauma of the HDF Medical Centre

Medical degree: Semmelweis Medical University, Budapest, Hungary, 1992

PhD degree: Treatment of Blast Injuries, Zrínyi University of Defense, Budapest, Hungary, 2010

Certifications: Orthopaedics 1997, Traumatology 1999, Hand surgery 2001

Specific field of interest: trauma care, military medicine, mass casualty care, disaster medicine

Educations:

Dept. of Orthopaedics, Halland County Hospital, Halmstad, Sweden, 1991

Dept. of Trauma, Milan City Hopsital, Italy, 1992

Dept. of Hand Surgery, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Israel, 1999

DSTC, ETC

Memberships: APIMSF, Hungarian Society of Trauma, Hungarian Society of Orthopaedics, Hungarian Society of Emergency Medicine

Deployments: SFOR, Bosnia, 1998

KFOR German Field Hospital, Prizren, Kosovo, 2006-07

ISAF RCN German Medical Treatment Facility, Mazar e Sharif, Afghanistan, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13.

Languages: English, Italian, Russian

Publications: 96

 

Dr. Moore, Professor and Chair of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, holds the Robert L. Ruberg MD Alumni Endowed Chair.

She received her undergraduate degree from University of Richmond and her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

She completed her Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery residency at Washington University School of Medicine where she dedicated an additional two years as a Peripheral Nerve Research Fellow.

Dr. Moore then completed Mayo Clinic’s Orthopedic Hand Fellowship in Rochester, Minnesota.

Dr. Moore’s first faculty appointment was at Washington University School of Medicine, where she was the Program Director of the Hand, Nerve and Microsurgery Fellowship and Chief of the Section of Hand Surgery and Trauma.

Dr. Moore is a peripheral nerve surgeon focusing on restoring upper and lower extremity function in adults and children.

As a committed surgeon-scientist, she has developed a parallel research program with currently more than $5 million in funding from the Department of Defense (DoD). She has published her clinical and translational research findings with over 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and chapters.

She has served in leadership positions within her institution and national societies.

She iscurrently President-Elect of the American Society for Peripheral Nerve.

She is also a Board Examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Andrii Lysak, MD, PhD, FEBHS

Head of the "Reconstructive microsurgery and orthopaedic surgery" department of SI "Main Medical Clinical Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine" in Kyiv, Ukraine. Trained as an orthopaedic surgeon but found his interest in hand, peripheral nerve, brachial plexus surgery and reconstructive microsurgery of the upper extremity.

Since 2012, a member of the Ukrainian Hand Surgery Society and, since 2015, secretary of the Ukrainian Hand Surgery Society.
In 2020, successfully passed the European Board of Hand Surgery Examination.
Since 2022, an overseas member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand.
From 2022, national representative of the Clinical Practice Committee of the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand in Ukraine.
In 2023, he was awarded the honorary award of the president of the British Association of Orthopaedic Traumatologists for his significant contribution to developing the speciality.
Since 2024, a member of the Global Nerve Foundation educational committee.
Since 2024, a national delegate from Ukraine in the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand. Author and co-author of more than 70 published scientific papers.

Zvi Steinberger, MD

A Ben Gurion University Medical School graduate. He completed the residency program in Orthopaedic surgery and clinical fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery both at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.

Later on Dr. Steinberger completed a year as a research fellow and a yearlong clinical fellowship in Orthopalstic surgery both at PENN University in Philadelphia, under the guidance of Dr. Scott Levin.

Dr. Steinberger us leading the Micro and Orthoplastic surgery unit at Sheba Medical Center since November 2021. His main interest is limb salvage surgery and he has been dedicating his work to saving and improving functionality of upper and lower limbs.

Stephen J. Kovach, MD, FACS

Dr. Stephen Kovach serves as Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic Surgery and the Department
of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania as well as the Herndon B. Lehr Endowed
Professor. Dr. Kovach completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania followed
by medical school at the George Washington University. He completed his general surgery residency as
well as his basic science research fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He
completed his plastic surgery training at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC as well as the
Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in Louisville, KY.
Dr. Kovach’s practice consists of reconstructive surgery and reconstructive microsurgery. Dr. Kovach
practices the spectrum of general reconstructive surgery and aesthetic surgery with an emphasis on
abdominal wall reconstruction and extremity reconstruction. Dr. Kovach has authored over 275
manuscripts, numerous book chapters, and speaks at national as well as international meetings
regarding reconstructive surgery.
Dr. Kovach is a member of multiple national and international societies and has a keen interest in
development of microsurgical capacity in areas of worldwide need.