On the second day of surgery the team took on more complicated cleft palate cases. These cases are the primary focus on this Training Mission. Cleft palates are challenging procedures and children often need multiple surgeries and ongoing care, such as speech therapy, to address the full set of problems. For this reason, many organizations avoid doing them. The Sohag University Hospital team is eager to learn more about these procedures from us and build their skills
For our first patient, 11 year old Abdullah, this was his sixth surgery – and hopefully his last! Dr. Kristin Stueber determined a pharyngeal flap was the best course of action to restore his palate. This was of particular interest to Dr. Mohammed who said he had never seen one done. He scrubbed in with Dr. Kristin and got hands-on training while several residents observed around the table and from the hall.
In other news, a very happy 5 month old, Reham, was discharged today with a beautifully repaired lip. Her mother was grateful for our team and excited to share photos of her baby with her husband who couldn’t be there because he works in Cairo.
Thank you to our friends at the Paramus Rotary Club, Paramus Sunrise Rotary Club, Rotary District 7490, Rotary Club of San Francisco, Trinity International Mission, NJ, and Rotary Club of Sohag for making this possible!
We are so grateful to have Alliance for Smiles here. This is an important opportunity for us to learn. It’s not about the number of cases for us. I’m excited to see new procedures like the pharyngeal technique. Many of our doctors will come to watch. This will be the first time we will see it. You will have a huge impact on us.
– Dr. Mohammed El Sayed, Assistant Lecturer of Plastic Surgery