Medical Mission: Santo Domingo

 Thank you for donating the scrub caps for this most recent trip to the CURE Santo Domingo hospital. The colorful kaps really made the locals working at the hospital happy.

Even the hand surgeon wore your Kap all week long to show support. 

1st 2 pics are Dr Bob Terrill from Boston-hand surgeon with a specialty in pediatric congenital Upper Extremity deformities wearing your kap, then I got a pic of 2 of the local OR staff happily wearing the Kaps. 

 Then a pic of me after fabricating a dynamic elbow flexion splint for a child who fell and dislocated his elbow, the public hospital said "no one can help you". Ismerlin can now pull on the velcro straps through the D-rings (from a sling) and pull his elbow and stretch it himself into flexion. 

It was a wonderful trip.  The Orthopedic Surgeon who is the director of this hospital is a kind wonderful person.  I would recommend any health professional to visit and help.

Carlos gets into fights at school when the other kids pick on him because of his deformed right arm.  He defends himself with his short disfigured arm to prove to the other kids that he is normal. Carlos was born with a fused elbow, a non-functional small finger and no thumb.  Post axial polydactyly, aplastic thumb a varient of radial club hand.  He uses a scissor grasp with his index and middle finger since he has no opposing thumb.  Carlos also has Scoliosis

Dr Bob removed his small finger and transferred the extensor tendon to his ring finger to help his function. We will return to Santo Domingo in November, so That Dr Bob can move his index finger and make it work similar to a thumb called a "Pollicization".  

 Yancarli was born with Constriction Band Syndrome, Annular bands from the amnionic sac encircle tissue which will eventually cut off circulation as she grows.  underneath the skin she has normal bones.  She is too young for surgery. Dr Bob will return in November when she is 6 months older to perform surgery so that she can have a functional hand. I will have to make a splint that will keep her fingers seperated.  She'll need to wear the splint to bed for 6 months.

 Annely was born without a radius in both of her arms,  called "Club Hand"  We watched her play. She has good functional

fingers and she can grasp the toy car and play with it.  So it was decided to splint her and try stretching her wrists

as she grows.  We taught the mother to stretch her in the daytime, let her play, and to wear the splints while sleeping.  

Yancarli is only 5 months old

She was born with Constriction Band Syndrome. Annular bands of tissue encircle portions of the fingers or limb.

No 2 cases are alike, caused by deficits in the amnionic sac. Yancarli's X-ray shows that her bones are normal, therefore removal of the bands and separation of the skin will give her functioning hands. 

Yancarli is too young for the surgery in May,  her vessels are too small

Dr Bob and the hand team will return to Santo Domingo in November for her surgery.

The Dominican CURE Hospital has a wonderful staff, and the children will have follow up visits with the head of Orthopedics Dr Glen Rowe.  There is a waiting list to be seen at this hospital.  The missions hospital treats all of the children under 18 for free.  The hospital earns money by treating the baseball players.  Dr Bob performed surgery on 2 baseball players to earn money for the children.  The public hospital has extremely poor care....ie:  if you have an infection in your bone, the doctor excises the bone and sends the patient home.  We saw 1 case where the little girl was sent home without a femur and an Adult that has been walking without a fibula for 10 years

Sincerely, 
Connie