Cusco, Peru Surgical Trip 2006

David & His Dad

David & His Dad
Originally uploaded by interplast.

David, although sore from the surgery, is now able to move his head more freely, and will be up and running around in no time.

David's Successful Surgery

David with Dr. Jim Wallace
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Dr. James Wallace performed surgery to remove the scar tissue and replace it with adjacent healthy tissue.

David's Burn Contractures

David And Myles
Originally uploaded by interplast.

David came to us with burn contractures on his neck that prevented him from tilting his head up, and limited side to side movement.

Burn Victim David

David At Clinic
Originally uploaded by interplast.

David is a very quiet and shy 3 years old, who suffered severe burns on his face, head and neck when the fire his family was cooking with fell into the area where he was playing.

Alejandro's Left Foot Post-Op

Alejandro's Left Foot Post-Op
Originally uploaded by interplast.

The extra tendons were carefully re-attached to pull the remaining toe closer to the others, and the extra growth plate was removed. The surgery went well, and Alejandro will return to see local Dr. Cornejo next week for a follow up.

Alejandro's Left Foot Pre-Op

Alejandro's Left Foot Pre-Op
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Alejandro came to us with polydactyly (having too many toes) on both feet. While having six toes doesn’t interfere with walking or balance, it makes it difficult to run around and wear shoes. Drs. Gary Fudem and Mario Cornejo worked together on Alejandro to remove his extra toes

Carlos, Jim and RMHC

Dr. Joe Herbert Examining Carlos
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Each child is thoroughly examined by volunteer pediatrician Dr. Joe Herbert immediately prior to surgery to ensure that they are healthy and it is safe to put them under general anesthesia. Having this procedure at such a young age will make a big difference in Carlos’ speech when he learns to talk.

Ronald McDonald House Charities has generously sponsored this Interplast surgical team trip, and it is because of their vision that children like Carlos will go on to lead normal, happy lives.

Heidi Huntsman and Carlos

Heidi Huntsman and Carlos
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Last year Carlos was treated by doctors with Interplast for his cleft lip. He is now 18 months-old, and has returned with his mother to have surgery done on his cleft palate.

Jodi Clements and Tina Cerruti

Volunteer Nurses
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Interplast trips would not be possible without the professional care and treatment provided by the volunteer nurses. Jodi Clements is an operating room nurse from Ottawa, Canada, and this is her eigth Interplast trip. Tina Cerruti is a recovery room nurse from Sacramento, California, and this is her seventh Interplast trip. These nurses are so dedicated many of them do a trip every year in lieu of vacation. They get addicted! And who could blame them?

Sandra's New Ear

Sandra's New Ear
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Here is Sandra's new ear after the surgery. The swelling should go down in a few days.

Sandra's Procedure

Sandra's New Ear
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Today, Dr. Gary Fudem and Dr. Cornejo worked together to form the outer part of Sandra's ear. First, they cut around the cartilage that was implanted last year, and lifted it to form what is now the outside of an ear. Then they took a skin graft from Sandra's abdomen and sutured it behind the new structure. Finally, they placed a "splint" behind the new ear to hold it away fromt he head while it heals.

Sandra

Sandra
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Sandra is a beautiful and intelligent 11 year-old girl, who was born without an external ear structure. Last year she had the first of what will be four surgeries to create a new ear. Last year Interplast doctors performed the first of these procedures, in which they took cartilage from her ribcage and implanted it behind were her ear should have been.

Peruvian Hospitals

Alan After Interplast
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Many of these families come several miles, and frequently travel for hours or even days to come to Cusco while the Interplast team is there. The mothers and/or fathers stay overnight in the hospital, usually in the same bed as their child, or sometimes on the floor. There are no hospital gowns to speak of, and the mothers will bundle their children in 3-5 woolen sweaters, then wrap them in a colorful hand woven blanket and walk around the floor with them on their backs.

Recall Alan who underwent successful surgery yesterday for his cleft lip. Here he is in the hospital recovering, fully swathed by his mother. He was released, and they are now making the long trip back home.

Transformation

Alan And His No-Longer-Anxious Mom
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Alan's mother was so anxious while she was waiting outside in the hallway for the surgery to be finished. It was such a wonderful experience to see her face when she held her son and saw the transformation that had occured from the surgery.

Carla In Surgery

Carla's Surgery
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Dr. James Wallace performed Carla's surgery and was assisted by a local surgery resident who is training under the supervision of our host, Dr. Mario Cornejo. It's really amazing to be associated with an organization like Interplast that changes the lives of so many children like Carla.

Going Under Anesthesia

Carla Being Given Anesthesia
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Carla had her cleft lip repaired by the 2005 Interplast Cusco, Peru surgical team (from the 2005 Cusco blog: Carla's cleft lip before Interplast and after Interplast), and was treated this morning for her cleft palate, which was wide open. It is common for patients to have a cleft lip repaired one year and a cleft palate repaired the following year. By seperating the surgeries, Interplast doctors give the child time to heal and avoid keeping the patient under anesthesia for too long.

Carla After Interplast

Carla Perched On A Shoulder
Originally uploaded by interplast.

This is Carla this year. You would never know that she is the same girl from the last post. She's such a cutie!

Carla Before Interplast

Carla Before Her Interplast Operation Last Year
Originally uploaded by interplast.

This is Carla last year, before Interplast repaired her cleft lip. While this picture may be a little jarring, it really brings home for me the life-changing work of Interplast. You can really see the difference in Carla just one year later. We are so glad that her parents were happy enough with the result to entrust her with us once again.

Beautiful and Energetic

Carla And Her Dad
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Carla is a beautiful and energetic 1-1/2 year old with silky, curly locks. Carla had a cleft lip previously repaired by Interplast, and she is back at the hospital to have her cleft palate repaired.

Orphanage With Many Infants and Children With Clefts

Heidi Huntsman With A Distracted Friend
Originally uploaded by interplast.

The orphanage has many infants and children with clefts. Unfortunately, all three of the children that came to us this year from the orphanage (Sheyla, Aron and Liseth) for palate repairs, had a slight upper respiratory infection, and were turned away. They will return on Monday to be re-examined, and hopefully we will be able to schedule them for surgery next week.

Santa Teresa Orphanage: Sunshine and Toys

Heidi Huntsman at Santa Teresa Orphanage
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Yesterday I went to visit Santa Teresa orphanage here in Cusco, Peru. Expecting the worst, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a modern, extremly clean and well kept facility with courtyards full of flowers, and rooms full of sunshine and toys. The children seemed very happy and well adjusted--the child to nun ratio was roughly 4:1--impressive by any standards!

Cancellations

Today started with some minor disapointments. Two of the children from Santa Theresa orphanage, Aron and Lizbeth, were scheduled for surgery today, but had to be canceled due to an upper respiratory infection. These two both have cleft palates which need to be repaired, but have already had surgery for their cleft lips. Aron´s is bi-lateral, which means he has on opening all the way down each side of his palate.

Thrilled With Palm

Thrilled With Palm
Originally uploaded by interplast.

This is a photo of Helena Hellberg, entering patient information in the recovery room onto a Palm Zire 72, generously donated by Palm, Inc. last year. As a board member, I (Heidi Huntsman) was thrilled to learn that so many companies like Palm are involved with Interplast, donating valuable products and medical supplies. With the Palm Zire's, our volunteers can store important medical information to help track patients over several years and determine important trends in patient safety and quality assurance. Helena is probably entering things like the patient's name, age, iron level, medical condition, type of surgery, time under anesthesia, etc. The Palms really make it manageable to collect and organize all this information!

Translators, The Key For Understanding

Helena and Claudio
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Translators are an essential part of any successful Interplast trip. Vital information has to be communicated to the parents, so they understand the procedures that their child will be undergoing, how to care for their child before arriving and upon leaving the hospital, and when and how to follow-up. Our volunteer translators, Helena and Claudio, have been a vital part of the team.

Making Fingers For Matthew

Matthew and Madre
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Matthew, who is 1 1/2 years old, was born with his fingers fused together. His little hand resembles a paddle, and it is almost impossible for him to grasp with it. Today, Dr. James Wallace, our trip leader, and Dr. Mario Cornejo, our local host, together performed surgery on him to seperate the first "finger", which will allow him to grasp objects. They took a skin graft from his abdomen to place between the fingers. Next year he can come back to have another procedure to release another finger.

Bilateral Cleft Palate Patient Aron

Aron
Originally uploaded by interplast.

This is Aron. He is also from the Santa Teresa orphanage. I wanted to take him home with me, he was so sweet and curious, and happy to sit with anyone. He has a bilateral cleft palate, and we will operate on him this week.

Teaching in Peru

Teaching in Peru
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Part of Interplast´s mission is to teach doctors in the local communities how to perform these surgical procedures. Sometimes teaching occurs between the medical volunteers as well, as different specialties have different methods of doing things. Here is Dr. Jim Scott teaching Dr. Myles Standish, from Portland, Oregon how to administer a spheno-palatine block to a child prior to cleft palate surgery.

Translators, The Key For Understanding

Translators, the Key for Understanding
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Translators are an essential part of any successful Interplast trip. Vital information has to be communicated to the parents, so they understand the procedures that their child will be undergoing, how to care for their child before arriving and upon leaving the hospital, and when and how to follow-up. Our volunteer translators, Helena and Claudio, have been a vital part of the team.

So Sweet

  Sheyla 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

Sheyla came from the nearby Santa Teresa orphanage, and is 5 1/2 years old. She had surgery last year by Interplast surgeons who operated on her cleft palate (she was in last year´s Interplast Cusco, Peru blog). This year she came back for a fistula repair, so that she may improve her speech. She was so sweet and beautiful, and sat very quietly while the doctors examined her. Unfortunately, she was not healthy enough for surgery, and will have to wait another year.

Gracious Host

Carol and Dr. Cornejo
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Here is our gracious host, Dr. Mario Cornejo, with his 13-year old daughter Carol. Carol wants to be a surgeon like her dad when she grows up. Today, she observed a cleft palate procedure done by Dr. James Wallace.

Successfully Underwent Cleft Palate Surgery

Carolina
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Carolina is a beautiful 9-year old with big brown eyes, a captivating smile, and a cleft palate, which causes problems with her speech. She came from over 350 miles away so that she could be operated on by our Interplast volunteers. Today, she successfully underwent cleft palate surgery.

The Consequence of High Standards

Anesthesiologist Evaluating Patient
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Interplast has instituted very high standards in order to provide safe treatment to these children. Unfortunately, this means that some are turned away due to iron deficiencies and malnutrition. It was very difficult for the surgeons and other professionals to break the news to the families--they came so far, and had so much hope. However, most of the children were surgical candidates, and in the following days, I will share their stories.

In this photo, Dr. Jim Scott, volunteer anesthesiologist from Albuquerque, makes notes about a toddler on clinic day.

Screening Patients

Dr. Herbert Examining a Peruvian Boy
Originally uploaded by interplast.

Today was clinic day, which (I’ve been told) is usually hectic. Mothers and fathers walked or traveled for hours with their children in hopes that the Interplast team might be able to help them. Most of them were dressed in their traditional clothing--brightly colored sweaters, skirts and hats. Dozens of children were screened, most with cleft lips and/or palates, some with polydactyl and others with burns. Many children that were treated last year by Interplast came back for follow up surgeries. Dr. Joseph Herbert, volunteer pediatrician from Santa Cruz, examines a young boy during clinic.

Very Little Access to Health Care

  Very LIttle Access to Health Care 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

The region is extremely poor and has very little access to health care. Even if they had services available to them, they couldn’t possibly afford to pay for these surgeries themselves. We are very grateful that so many medical professionals are willing to donate their time and give their services to people who have so little. We are also grateful to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) for providing the funding for this trip. RMHC helps people in the poorest regions of the world, and we are proud to partner with them.

Extremely Poor Region

  Alan And His Mother 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

My name is Heidi Huntsman, from Salt Lake City, Utah. While I have served on the Interplast board since June 2004, this is my first Interplast trip. We are visiting Cusco, Peru, which sits high in the Andes—more than 11,000 ft! Most of the indigenous people here are descendants of the Incans, which ruled the region until the mid-1500s. The region is extremely poor and has very little access to health care. Even if they had services available to them, they couldn’t possibly afford to pay for these surgeries themselves.

This is 1 1/2-year old Alan and his mother. He and his mother traveled many hours so that the doctors and nurses of interplast could operate on his cleft lip.