Dmytro Ivakhnenko - spine neurosurgeon in Zaporizhzhia
PhD in Medicine, associate professor, neurosurgeon of the highest category. 30 years of practice in neurosurgery. Surgical and minimally invasive treatment of spinal pathology and spinal cord injury, microsurgical reconstruction of peripheral nerves, treatment of pain syndromes.
Neurosurgery in Zaporizhzhia: what it looks like from the inside
Two short clips from the neurosurgery department of the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care, both filmed together with students of Zaporizhzhia State Medical University. The first shows an ordinary working day: preparation for a procedure, the operating room, the team at work. The second was filmed at the operating table: work under the microscope, from the distance at which the surgeon sees the spine.
Education and specialty
- 1995 Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, general medicine.
- 1995–1997 Internship in neurosurgery, Kyiv Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education.
- 1998–2000 Clinical residency at the department of neurosurgery, Bogomolets National Medical University.
- 2000–2002 Postgraduate research at the same department.
- 2002 PhD in Medicine. The thesis dealt with the course and treatment strategy of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries in elderly patients.
- 2011 Associate professor, Zaporizhzhia State Medical University.
- 2022 Master's degree in Management, Classic Private University.
The subject of that thesis is not a formality. It is where the principle comes from that I repeat to every other patient over seventy: age in itself is not a contraindication. What matters is the state of the heart, blood vessels, lungs and blood clotting - not the number in a passport.
Professional career
- 1995–2004 Neurosurgeon in the neurosurgery department of the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care, Zaporizhzhia.
- 2002 Defended my PhD thesis and joined the Ukrainian Association of Neurosurgeons.
- 2004 Assistant lecturer at the Department of Disaster Medicine, emergency neurosurgeon.
- 2006 Awarded the highest qualification category.
- 2011 Associate professor at the Department of Disaster Medicine.
- 2011 Member of the Ukrainian Association for the Study of Pain.
- 2016 Head of the neurosurgery department at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care. Member of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).
- 2018 Deputy director for medical affairs at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care.
- 2021 Medical director at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care.
- 2022 Neurosurgeon at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care.
- 2023 Neurosurgeon at the Motor Sich medical centre, spine surgery.
- 2023 Head of the neurosurgery department at Zaporizhzhia Regional Clinical Hospital.
- 2026 Neurosurgeon at the City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care.
Areas of work
Research
- More than 40 publications - papers and abstracts in Ukrainian and international journals.
- 2 patents of Ukraine for a utility model.
- 23 conferences, symposia and congresses, national and international.
Public service
Member of the Zaporizhzhia City Council of the 8th convocation, "Yednannia Volodymyra Buriaka" faction. I work on the city's healthcare matters.
Memberships
- Ukrainian Association of Neurosurgeons
- Ukrainian Association for the Study of Pain
- European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)
Dmytro Ivakhnenko: qualification, diplomas, certificates, research
Highest category in neurosurgery, PhD in Medicine, associate professor. Diplomas, certificates, training in Europe, memberships. Practice in Zaporizhzhia.
Spine neurosurgeon: how I work with a patient in Zaporizhzhia
I have worked in spinal neurosurgery for more than thirty years - studying the spine, operating on it and helping people get rid of back pain - with conservative treatment where possible and with complex surgery where there is no other way. In that time: more than 2,900 operations and 11,000 patients I was able to help, most of them without surgery.
The principle I work by is simple: the best spine operation is the one you managed to avoid. The decision to operate is not made in the first minute of a conversation. If your case can be treated without surgery, you will hear that from me straight away.
At the consultation we go through your scans together. I show you what is actually on them and set out the options: what conservative treatment will give you, what surgery will give you, and what you risk in each case.
Appointments
Zaporizhzhia, 80 Peremohy St. City Hospital of Emergency and Ambulance Care, 2nd floor, room 211.
Mon-Fri 08:30-15:00. On operating days I cannot answer the phone: message the same number instead.