In February and March, HIS Foundation sent a plastic surgery team and an orthopedic team to serve in Kurdistan (Northern Iraq).
Kurdistan Plastic Surgery Mission Team
Clinic
Ward rounds
Surgery
The plastic surgery team had 17 international team members. They saw 59 out-patients and performed surgeries on 19 of them. Surgery can improve the appearance of harelip patients. Patients with cleft palate have difficulty in speech and eating. Early surgery can largely improve the pronunciation, however if surgery is delay, improvement can be more difficult. Some harelip patients also have collapsed nostrils which can cause impairment in breathing. Surgery can greatly improve the breathing and the cosmesis.
Plastic Surgery Patients
Hareclip
Cleft palate causes difficulty in speech and eating
Collapse nostril causes difficulty in breathing
patient had repair of palate but not completely successful
Residual cleft palate
Harelip & Collapse nostril
patient had repair of harelip but not completely successful
The teams hired a lot of local workers as drivers, interpreters, nurses, and administrative assistant. The Medical Faculty of the University of Zakho invited our orthopedic surgeon and physical therapist to give tutorials and lectures to their sixth (final) year medical students. The tutorials were well received.
Please pray for swift recovery of our patients. May they recover good function and have happy living!
May God bless you abundantly!
Sincerely,
James Lau, M.D. Board Chairman
2024 Feb Kurdistan Plastic Surgery Mission