So No Child Must Wait

Minh Man Post-Surgery With New Friends

  Minh Man with his new friends in the ward 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

My Tho, Vietnam - Here is Minh Man on the left, in the ward the morning after surgery. He is feeling well and and even has some new friends, who also received new hands thanks to Interplast! The patients certainly develop a sense of community while waiting, sometimes days, in the hospital before and after surgery - we are amazed at how friendly everyone is and how well everyone has gotten to know one another while here. The Vietnamese truly keep good spirits though difficult times.

Difficult Burn Victim Case: Minh Man

  Minh Man pre-surgery 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

My Tho, Vietnam - Minh Man is a friendly 10 year old boy. When he was 4, his clothing caught on fire while playing in his house near a wood stove. Panicked, Minh Man ran out the door and around the block - it was ten minutes before his mother could catch him and douse the flames, by which time he was badly burned. Today, his left wrist is locked in an extremely awkward position due to the shrinking of his skin over the years, making his left hand rather useless. No Vietnamese doctors that he has seen would attempt his case, because of how difficult it would be to release his wrist to allow for full extension. Once in the operating room, Dr. Khundkar and Dr. Nolan released Minh Man's burn contractures on his wrist to give him full extension of his wrist. They will next take a skin graft from Minh Man's abdomen to place on the open wound where his skin had shrunk.

Once in the operating room, Dr. Khundkar and Dr. Nolan released Minh Man's burn contractures on his wrist to give him full extension of his wrist. They will next take a skin graft from Minh Man's abdomen to place on the open wound where his skin had shrunk.

Burns in the Developing World

  Loc in pre-op room 
  Originally uploaded by interplast.

My Tho, Vietnam - We have seen many serious burn victims in the past week, and those team members with experience on other trips have remarked on how common burns are in the developing world, due to cooking methods and unsafe machinery and equipment.

This is Loc, an engineer who fixes cars, motorbikes and other machines. Eight months ago a gasoline explosion gravely burned his face, chest and both his arms. The burns slowly hardened and shrunk his skin, to the point where he could barely use his left hand. The doctors operated on this hand to release the burn contracture and grafted skin from his groin to his hand and wrist. He came out of anesthesia speaking English, which was quite a surprise to the recovery room nurses and translators, saying "I can work again" and "I am happy, I am happy!"