Near the frontline, Ukraine's neurosurgeons are on the cutting edge

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Mechnikov Hospital is so old it treated wounded soldiers during the Crimean War in the 1850s.

Yet the medical center in central Ukraine, just 60 miles from the frontline, plays a critical role in the current Russia-Ukraine war, where traumatic brain injuries are all-too-common. With a bit of help from some U.S. doctors, Ukrainian neurosurgeons are conducting state-of-the-art operations with cutting-edge equipment.

When Ukrainian troops suffer life-threatening head injuries — and many do — this is where they want to come as fast as possible.

"At Mechnikov Hospital, our rules say we need to start surgery in the first two hours after admission," said Dr. Andriy Sirko , the head of neurology who handles the most complex cases.

That's much faster than in many hospitals