Specialized Surgical Care

As a top-ranked, world-renowned academic medical center and home to the most advanced medical facilities in the United States, UCLA Health offers innovative care and the latest in medical technology. Since 2007, UCLA Health's Operation Mend has been providing advanced specialty surgical and medical consultation and treatment for injuries sustained in post-9/11 era military service. The original focus of Operation Mend was to engage UCLA’s world-class experts in plastic and reconstructive surgery to rebuild the faces of service members who had suffered highly complex facial trauma. The program expanded to provide subspecialty surgical and medical consultation and specialty treatment in a variety of clinical areas, as well as comprehensive psychological health care for eligible post-9/11-era service members, veterans and their families. All care, care coordination, travel and lodging are provided at no cost to the veterans or service members and their caregivers. For those who have insurance, insurance will be utilized when applicable. The warrior is not responsible for co-payments, balance of cost, or authorization denials related to their care at UCLA.

Along with advanced medical specialty care, Operation Mend is distinguished by its focus on including the warriors’ family in care and providing comprehensive case management, coordination and social support that helps eliminate barriers to treatment.

The highly esteemed medical directors of UCLA Health Operation Mend’s specialized surgical care program are Dr. Christopher Crisera and Dr. Kodi Azari. They, in consultation with the Operation Mend team, draw on a multitude of UCLA Health clinical speciality areas.

Click on the links below for more information on each specialty area:

Dermatology

  • Pulsed Dye Laser treatment for improvement of Erythema of Scars
  • Fraxel Laser and other fractionated lasers and devices for treatment of scars
  • Lasers for removal of hair from hair bearing skin flaps to non hair bearing areas and removal of irregular growing hairs in scars

Maxillofacial/Dentistry 

  • Comprehensive evaluation
  • Nasal stents for surgical reconstructions (keeps the orifice open)
  • Facial Prosthetics including auricular prosthesis (lost due to I.E.D.'s)
  • Intra oral prosthesis including mandibular resection appliances and maxillary obturators (post implant placement)

Neurology and Mild TBI Diagnostics

  • Evaluation and treatment of symptoms relating to concussion
  • Multidisciplinary neurological consultation in conjunction with neuropsychological screening
  • Clinical reaction time testing
  • Clinical balance testing
  • Eye tracking screening examinations
  • Multimodal clinical MRI with advanced diagnostics (when indicated)
  • Video continuous EEG (when indicated)
  • Neuroendocrine lab testing (when indicated)
  • Rehabilitation

Neuropsychology

  • Neuropsychological assessment for patients with post-acute, mild to severe TBI, mood disorders, PTSD, substance abuse, chronic pain, trauma exposure and re-adjustment, and other conditions
  • 20+ board certified neuropsychologists provide detailed recommendations for referral sources, the patient and the patient’s family/caregivers
  • Translate findings of objective cognitive measures into tailored recommendations focused on compensation for deficits and accentuation of strengths
  • Flexible battery approach is utilized that matches assessment measures to the identified referral question and patient characteristics
  • Tests selected from a wide variety of neuropsychology measures based on psychometric properties, demonstrated validity, and appropriateness of available normative data
  • Interdisciplinary care is demonstrated by our monthly TBI meetings, where information about various assessments is discussed and treatments are considered based on this data

Ophthalmology and Oculoplastics

  • Comprehensive Evaluation
  • Visual fields tests
  • Neuromuscular examination
  • Humphrey visual field testing
  • Orbital reconstruction to preserve eye movements and vision
  • Ocular surface reconstruction including artificial cornea, grafting, burn reconstruction
  • Complex eyelid reconstruction including tear drainage reconstruction

Orthopaedic Surgery

Upper and Lower Extremity

  • Joint reconstruction including knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle reconstruction (AC, PCL, multi-ligament knee, rotator cuff and instability)
  • Comprehensive arthroscopic procedures including knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle and hip arthroscopy
  • Joint contracture release
  • Specialty care in the setting of soft tissue loss or contracture
  • Fracture care including malunion and nonunion
  • Foot and ankle surgery

Spine Surgery

  • Complex deformity surgery
  • Cervical, thoracic and lumbar osteotomy for correction
  • Cervical, thoracic and lumbar discectomies for nerve compression
  • Fusion procedures for instability and degenerative conditions of the spine.
  • Treatment of spinal infections

Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, ENT

Treatment of injuries and severe infections of the ears, nose, and throat

  • Endoscopic sinus surgery
  • Septoplasty
  • Turbinate reduction

Treatment of traumatic injuries to the ear, temporal bone, larynx, skull base, facial nerve

  • Ear exploration
  • Tympanoplasty
  • Mastoidectomy
  • Cochlear implants
  • Middle fossa surgery
  • Facial nerve decompression
  • Facial nerve rehabilitation (static/dynamic reanimation)
  • Laryngeal reconstruction (thyroplasty, voice augmentation, larygenal transplantation)

Treatment of hearing and balance disorders, sinus/smell disorders, voice/speech/swallowing disorders

  • Hearing tests
  • Balance testing
  • Balloon sinuplasty
  • Video stroboscopy
  • Transnasal esophagoscopy
  • Swallow therapy

Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

Plastic Surgeons strive to re-establish form and function for defects arising from congenital anomalies, malignancies, or trauma. Doing so requires manipulation of skin, muscle and bones. Operation Mend patients have a broad spectrum of challenging defects affecting the face, torso, and extremities resulting from burn, blast, and ballistic injuries.

Specific procedures performed for Operation Mend patients include:

Local tissue rearrangements

  • Scar revisions
  • Contracture releases
  • Z-plasties

Skin grafts

  • full thickness skin grafts
  • split-thickness skin grafts

Fat Transfer

Local flaps

  • Fasciocutaneous flaps
  • Muscle flaps
  • Musculocutaneous flaps

Free tissue transfer

  • Free osseous/osteocutaneous flaps
    • Mandible/oral reconstruction
  • Free muscle/myocutaneous flaps
    • Facial reanimation for paralysis
  • Free fasciocutaneous flaps
    • Complex burn scar reconstruction (neck and extremity)

Craniofacial Procedures

  • Facial fracture repair
    • LeForte I, II, III, frontal sinus, nasal, zygomaxillary complex, mandible
  • Orbital surgery
  • Orthognathic surgery

Hand Surgery

  • Care of the Amputated Digits & Limbs
  • Reconstruction of nerve injuries
  • Secondary burn care and reconstruction
  • Nerve compression syndromes
  • Fracture care including non-union or malunion
  • Surgical care of ligament tears & joint dislocations
  • Upper extremity soft tissue reconstruction
  • Tendon Injuries

Urology Evaluation 

  • Comprehensive Evaluation 
  • Diagnostic Testing