One of my favorite operations is ear reconstruction. Last trip, in April 2013 the team was supposed to do a young man who had been turned down by many other groups. When I arrived for the second week, I discovered that the team had not left enough time to do the procedure and thus he was canceled. This time we made sure he was the first patient we saw during the screening clinc and he had the procedure done yesterday.
It is done by taking some of the rib and carving it into the shape of the cartiledge that gives the ear it's shape and then putting it under the skin where the ear normally is.
The finished framework.
In place.
Next year we will lift it away from the head to make the appearance more normal.
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It is great to have you sharing your trip and work with us.
ReplyDeleteHope that all goes well for your team while you are there.
Looking at your work -- this new ear -- and my response is: Wow.
ReplyDeleteI can surely understand why so many show up with the hope of your care.