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Loja, Ecuador - Dr. Ian Wilson, Webster Fellow: Ortiz was born with a "right complete unilateral cleft lip & palate." This condition is more common on the left side of the patient, which makes right-sided repairs more challenging. Nevertheless, the cleft lip repair was quite successful (the palate repair will happen next year) and you can see the difference pretty clearly.
Loja, Ecuador - Dr. Ian Wilson, Webster Fellow: Ortiz's parents were very involved in their child's care. Here is Ortiz with his father in the recovery room. The recovery instructions the pediatrician gives to the parents can sometimes be confusing, but Ortiz's dad made sure he knew everything so he could help his little boy return to health as soon as possible.
Loja, Ecuador: "Superman," as the team liked to call him, came to Interplast this year for a cleft palate repair. He had the cutest little superman hat, so he quickly found himself with a nickname.
Last year Interplast repaired his cleft lip. It is pretty common for a patient to have both a cleft lip and palate, and Interplast usually repairs the lip the first year and the palate the second, so the child has time to heal. His parents were always with him and doting on him. We hope as he grows up that he uses his super powers for good.
Loja, Ecuador: From left to right...Top: head nurse Bojan, PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) nurse Cory, chief surgeon Dr. Kristin Stueber, plastic surgeon Dr. Sally Langley, PACU nurse Kim Nguyen, Webster Fellow and plastic surgeon Dr. Ian Wilson. Bottom: anesthesiologist Dr. Linda Bryde.
Loja, Ecuador: Smith, shown here with his mom, came from Orianga to receive surgical treatment for his cleft lip. It was successfully repaired and he will now be an cuter than ever.
Loja, Ecuador: Jeremy is almost four years old. He has six fingers and toes on each hand/foot, and is constantly teased by other kids, who call him "Six." His hands look abnormal and he has difficulty wearing tight pairs of shoes, which are often the only option available to his impoverished family.
Drs. Ian Wilson and Sally Langley removed the extraneous digits (or, for you speakers of medicalese out there, excised the bilateral postaxial polydactyly of fingers and toes) with the assistance of local general surgeons Drs. Jack Banda and Victor Ortega.
Now that he has ten fingers and toes he will endure less taunting from the other children, and can physiologically develop as a normal boy.
These pictures were taken with a low-resolution camera phone, so I apologize if they're a little grainy.
Loja, Ecuador: Jose and his mother after his cleft palate repair. They traveled for five hours to get to Loja, where Jose's mom was told that the Interplast team was coming. She was very grateful for Jose's free surgery.
We on the team would like to take this opportunity to thank Ruth Kyes for her sponsorship of this surgical trip in honor of her late husband, Dr. Melvin Kyes, who was an anesthesiologist in Santa Barbara, California. Without Ruth's generosity, none of us would be able to operate on children like Jose here in Loja. The parents of the patients thank us because we are the most visible part of Interplast, but people like Ruth Kyes are really responsible for enabling Interplast to change people's lives. Ruth also donates her time as a volunteer nurse for Interplast and will be joining the medical team in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Loja, Ecuador: Maria Jose is two months old and had her cleft lip repaired by plastic surgeon Kristin Stueber. She will return next year to have her palate repaired as well.
Loja, Ecuador: This mural adorns the hallway in the hospital here in Loja. Isn't it cool?!?
Loja, Ecuador: Plastic surgeons Ian Wilson (who is also our new Webster Fellow) and Sally Langley are shown here working during clinic day with a patient. The main task during clinic day is to schedule the patients and approve them for surgery. This entails recording their medical history, checking them out, gauging the severity of their deformity / injury and penciling them in for surgery. It's always a hectic day!
