With these words, Marijan Jošanović (62) from Pucari, near Kozarska Dubica, expresses his gratitude to the employees of UKC RS. "My thumb was torn off by a picker on September 23 last year, while I was picking corn. "I immediately went to the health facility in Kozarska Dubica, and then to Gradiška, and finally to UKC RS in Banja Luka, where the operation was performed seven days later, after preparations," says Jošanović.

He points out that he had never before thought that doctors could provide such significant help in a situation like the one in which he found himself.

"Without my thumb, I could do almost nothing. The doctors helped me to be able to continue doing this work. I have to praise the doctors and nurses at UKC RS, who were extremely fair to me", says Jošanović. He is the first patient to whom the team of doctors from the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the UKC RS performed a complex surgical procedure of total reconstruction of the thumb with a complex osteofasciocutaneous forearm flap.

Since the thumb makes up more than 50 percent of the hand's function, the priority was to reconstruct it and allow the patient a normal grip and hand function. Given that the flap contains skin, fascia and bone, it is important to emphasize that not only the skin of the finger is reconstructed in this way, but also the bone shaft, which in this case is vascularized (unlike previously used free bone grafts). and as such is not prone to late resorption. In preoperative planning, Doppler is used to mark the blood vessel, and then a skin island is planned according to the previously measured thumb of the other hand.

It is a reverse pedicle flap based on the radial artery that provides perforating blood vessels not only through the fascia to the skin of the forearm, but also to the bone above it. Only a small part of the full circumference of the forearm bone of the radius was used, so the stability of the forearm was not impaired. The postoperative course went smoothly and without complications.

"The complex operation lasted four hours, and the operative team consisted of Dr. Srđan Veselinović, Dr. Nikola Baroš, Dr. Miljan Petković from the Clinic for Plastic Surgery and Dr. Nemanja Tomić from the Clinic for Orthopedics. The anesthesia team consisted of Dr. Dragan Milošević, Dr. Dejan Nikić, anesthesiologist Boško Dragišić, and instrument technicians Dijana Kremenović, Mira Sukara and Dragana Marković," they remind from UKC RS. The surgeons of the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the UKC RS provide a wide range of services in the field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. The Clinic is staffed by 11 doctors, of whom seven are specialists and four are residents. They specialize in the following areas: cosmetic plastic surgery, reconstructive surgery, craniofacial surgery, pediatric plastic surgery, hand surgery, and burns.

The surgeons of this clinic work closely with doctors of other specialties to provide patients with a comprehensive service and meet the needs for aesthetic or reconstructive procedures. "In an effort to provide the best and most comprehensive service for our patients, the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery made contact with prof. Ph.D. med. Marijan Novaković, former head of VMA Belgrade and one of the leading experts in this field. He is available to the doctors of the Clinic for all consultations, and in some cases also for performing complex procedures with the assistance of doctors from the UKC RS", says the UKC.

At the same time, it is important to note that last year's signing of the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the RS and the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine of the "Johns Hopkins" University is already bringing significant results. It foresees the departure of doctors from the RS for education in America in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery, but experts from the "Johns Hopkins" University will also come to the RS. "In this regard, the arrival of experts from America is planned at the end of May, when the first complex surgical procedures are planned to be performed at the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the UKC RS", say the UKC.

The agreement was signed by Dragan Bogdanić, Minister of Health and Social Protection of the RS, and Branko Bojović, an authorized representative of the Johns Hopkins University Faculty of Medicine from Maryland in the USA, in the presence of Željka Cvijanović, the President of the Government of the RS. This is an important project for the health care of the RS because, in addition to investing in the procurement of equipment and the construction and reconstruction of facilities, this way will also educate the personnel who will follow the world trends in the field of medicine.

The team of the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, UKC RS:
1. Head: Dr. Nikola Baroš, specialist in plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic surgery
2. Specialists in plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic surgery: prof. Ph.D. med. Branko Despot, MSc. med. Branislava Pušac, M.Sc. med. Nataša Zelinčević, Ph.D. Velibor Talić, Ph.D. Zvjezdana Zečević, Ph.D. Srđan Veselinović
3. Junior doctors in plastic-reconstructive surgery: Dr. Miljan Petković, Dr. Goran Vukadinović, Dr. Maja Slijepčević, Dr. Zlata Popović.

Services provided at the clinic include:

Reconstructive surgery:
1. Breast reconstruction after cancer
2. Correction of cleft palate
3. Hand surgery (injuries, infections, tumors, congenital anomalies)
4. Reconstruction of defects after tumor removal
5. Reconstruction of postoperative defects
6. Reconstruction of post-traumatic defects
7. Removal of skin tumors and reconstruction of defects
8. Surgical treatment of burns.

Aesthetic surgery:
1. Abdominoplasty
2. Augmentation mammoplasty (breast enlargement, lifting or reduction)
3. Blepharoplasty (correction and rejuvenation of the eyelids
4. Liposuction
5. Otoplasty (ear correction)
6. Rhinoplasty (nose correction)
7. Revision of scars

At the service of patients
The outpatient clinic of the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is located at Zdrave Korde Street No. 1, in Banja Luka, and is open every weekday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The contact phone number is 051/343-253. No pre-order is required to see patients.