NYU and Israeli hospital team up to treat wounded IDF soldiers

New York University (NYU) Langone is teaming up with an Israeli hospital to give fresh hope to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who lost limbs in the brutal war against Hamas.

Israeli charity Belev Echad has facilitated international collaboration between Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center – Ichilov and NYU’s Center for Amputation Reconstruction (CAR) to deliver state-of-the-art osseointegration techniques pioneered in the US to Israeli soldiers and train Israeli doctors to perform the surgeries in their own country.

Osseointegration is a process that allows for a prosthesis to be attached directly to a patient’s bone, eliminating pressure on their soft tissue. NYU CAR is a multidisciplinary center established in 2019 that focuses on patients who are suffering from “complex limb injuries” or who suffer from severe congenital defects, according to center head Dr. Omri Ayalon.

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“I feel very grateful that I am able to provide a service that is helping. We have the luxury here of not being in wartime and able to focus on these more reconstructive procedures that help these soldiers get back to a more normal way of life,” Dr. Ayalon told Fox News Digital.

Hamas’ horrific Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza have tragically increased the need for prosthetics in Israel, but osseointegration is not yet widespread in the country.

The interdisciplinary nature of the NYU CAR center allows patients to get all the necessary services for a successful prosthetic implant, including surgery, physical therapy and emotional counseling, in one place. The techniques available at NYU CAR, which prior to Oct. 7 had experience treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers, can help alleviate phantom limb sensation and other pain associated with amputation and prosthesis, and osseointegration allows patients to be fitted with prosthetics when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

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Wounded Israeli soldier Imri Rong, 26, was in Australia when word broke his country was under attack. He rushed back home as soon as a flight became available and served as a commander of an IDF K-9 unit in Gaza. Rong was injured when he and his team were clearing a home in Khan Yunis that turned out to be booby-trapped. The house, which was wired with explosives, collapsed on the soldiers. The unit’s dog, Cheetah, who alerted the soldiers to the booby traps with just seconds to spare, was killed in the collapse, but all the soldiers escaped with their lives. Rong credits Cheetah for saving them. 

“She saved my life that day, she saved the lives of eight soldiers,” he told Fox News Digital.

Rong suffered nerve damage in his leg and ankle that made it difficult for him to walk. Belev Echad secured his treatment at NYU CAR. He says his “biggest wish” is to see all the hostages back home, and he looks forward to living a “normal life” once his surgeries are over, and hopes to play soccer with his friends again.

Dr. Yaron Mor of Ichilov Hospital, one of Israel’s largest, believes that the partnership with NYU CAR presents a unique opportunity for both countries to grow from each other’s knowledge. Dr. Mor told Fox News Digital that treating wounded veterans is especially meaningful for him. Dr. Mor served in a previous Gaza war, operation Cast Lead, and had to identify the body of a slain friend. 

“It’s a privilege to treat them. They’re kids, we have to provide them the opportunity to lead normal lives,” Dr. Mor said. 

Belev Echad is an Israeli rehab center for wounded IDF soldiers. The organization’s President, Rabbi Uriel Vigler, says he arranged this partnership to help bring “cutting edge surgeries” and “innovative tech” to Israel.

“These surgeries will transform the lives of so many people,” he said.