February 19, 2026, at the Sytenko Institute of Spine and Joint Pathology National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, a scheduled scientific and practical conference was held in a hybrid format (offline and online): “Errors and Complications in the Treatment of Injuries and Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System. Osseointegrative Limb Prosthetics”, bringing together about 130 participants. The conference, held within the framework of “Traumatologist’s Day,” was organised by the Kharkiv Regional Branch of the NGO “Ukrainian Association of Orthopaedists-Traumatologists” and the Institute.

The conference was opened by Prof. Volodymyr A. Filipenko, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Branch, who emphasised the importance of the topic, noting that errors do occur and must be carefully analysed. He also highlighted the urgent issue of limb loss among Ukrainian servicemen and the growing importance of modern prosthetic solutions. For the first time in Kharkiv, several osteointegration procedures had just been performed. Before the scientific programme began, participants honoured the memory of fallen defenders of Ukraine with a minute of silence.

The Director of the Institute, DMSc Stanislav Ye. Bondarenko, welcomed participants and thanked both in-person and online attendees. He noted the relevance of the presented clinical cases in vertebrology, joint replacement, and complex postoperative conditions. The Institute has been implementing osseointegrative prosthetics for two years; previously, these procedures were performed by PhD Oleksandr A. Haluzynskyi at a private clinic in Kyiv, with experience involving more than 80 military patients. Among the distinguished guests were Henk van de Meent (Netherlands), a pioneer of press-fit osseointegration technologies, and Andrii B. Vilenskyi, Director of the Superhumans Center (Lviv).

Despite hip joint replacement being recognised as one of the most successful orthopaedic procedures of the 20th century, Prof. Bondarenko’s report addressed complications and errors in total hip arthroplasty. He stressed the importance of accurate preoperative planning using modern 2D and 3D software, now available and actively used in Ukraine. Several illustrative clinical cases of hip and knee arthroplasty were presented, along with reference to international consensus statements on periprosthetic infection, two of which have been translated into Ukrainian at the Institute. It was also noted that in December 2025, the NGO “Ukrainian Association of Joint Arthroplasty” was established, inviting professionals to join (website: uaja.org.ua).

In his presentation on long bone injuries, Stanislav S. Hubskyi emphasised that successful treatment depends not only on surgical skill but also on understanding biomechanics and bone healing biology. He outlined a classification of errors (diagnostic, tactical, technical, organisational, and rehabilitation-related), the use of the Tscherne classification, and AO principles. The conclusion highlighted that most errors are preventable at the planning stage.

Prof. Andrii I. Popov presented experience in treating combat-related spinal injuries over the past 3.5 years in collaboration with a military hospital. He stressed the importance of distinguishing between bullet, shrapnel, and fragmentation injuries and presented classification systems, neurological findings, and clinical cases.

Prof. Filipenko also addressed conservative treatment of osteoarthritis, highlighting major evidence-based guidelines from ACR, EULAR, OARSI, AAOS, and ESCEO. He identified three common groups of errors: ignoring guidelines, insufficient attention to comorbidities, and overuse of dietary supplements instead of medications.

PhD Oleksii P. Marushchak discussed diagnostic and therapeutic errors in orthopaedic infections, referencing microbiologist René Dubos and emphasising the complexity of periprosthetic infections through clinical examples.

A keynote lecture in English was delivered by Henk van de Meent, who presented the BADAL X system (bone-anchored prosthetics), comparing socket-based and bone-anchored prostheses. He reviewed the historical development of osseointegration, including contributions from Per-Ingvar Brånemark and Rickard Brånemark (OPRA system), as well as Horst Aschoff (ILP system). He also discussed rehabilitation outcomes and future integration with electronic technologies.

PhD Oleksandr A. Haluzynskyi presented the experience of the “Integration” centre in applying one- and two-stage surgical techniques for osseointegration in patients with combat injuries, including 97 procedures involving various limb segments. He outlined indications, contraindications, fixation methods (press-fit and screw-fit), surgical stages, complications, and rehabilitation protocols. He also mentioned an ongoing research project (2025–2027) on osseointegration in patients with combat trauma.

Prof. Oleksii O. Larin (National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”) highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of these challenges, emphasising collaboration between engineers and physicians. He presented computer modelling of femoral implants and stress distribution analysis, demonstrating how engineering solutions can support personalised implant design and rehabilitation technologies.

PhD Oleksii A. Dynnyk reviewed the historical development and current challenges of endo-exoprosthetics. He recalled early applications of biomaterials in amputation surgery and traced the evolution of osseointegration from Per-Ingvar Brånemark’s work in dental implants (1965) to modern systems such as OPRA, ILP, and OPL (developed by Munjed Al Muderis). He outlined key complications requiring further research, including infection, bone fractures, and implant failure.