First Day of Surgeries
Five babies…..five babies have a brand new look. Four babies with clefts and one baby with a nasal hemangioma all have been changed forever.
The day started out with Fu Ran, our Buddha baby. This adorable baby boy, a favorite of many of the volunteers was our first patient. Everyone oohed and aahed as he arrived onto the floor with his newly repaired lip. His ayi was very anxious to see him and was so very pleased to see his change. He was pretty fussy most of the day, understandably, but his dedicated ayi rocked him all day. It wasn’t until one of our facilitators John, started to talk to him, that he immediately stopped crying and smiled in a huge grin. You should have seen his new beautiful smile – what a gift to see!
Sara Jiao, our second patient, was a very tough case. Not only did she have a severe bilateral lip, but she had some scarring. Dr. Buckmiller said that she was challenging, but she was very optimistic. When this child was ready to be moved to the OR, her ayi was very upset. She loved her baby so much she was so worried. She walked with the anesthesiologists all the way to the OR door. When she returned to the floor she looked forlorn, you could just see how very anxious she was. Once she returned from surgery, the ayi was so very happy to see her new look. This dedicated ayi held this child the rest of the day and wouldn’t put her down.
Baby Heng has the most big, beautiful eyes. This child took the longest time in PACU because he was running a temperature. The nurses and doctors gave him extra loving care. Once he was down in the floor ICU he did great and was just as bright eyed as before. Not only did he get his lip repaired, but the doctors also put in ear tubes.
Five babies…..five babies have a brand new look. Four babies with clefts and one baby with a nasal hemangioma all have been changed forever.
The day started out with Fu Ran, our Buddha baby. This adorable baby boy, a favorite of many of the volunteers was our first patient. Everyone oohed and aahed as he arrived onto the floor with his newly repaired lip. His ayi was very anxious to see him and was so very pleased to see his change. He was pretty fussy most of the day, understandably, but his dedicated ayi rocked him all day. It wasn’t until one of our facilitators John, started to talk to him, that he immediately stopped crying and smiled in a huge grin. You should have seen his new beautiful smile – what a gift to see!
Sara Jiao, our second patient, was a very tough case. Not only did she have a severe bilateral lip, but she had some scarring. Dr. Buckmiller said that she was challenging, but she was very optimistic. When this child was ready to be moved to the OR, her ayi was very upset. She loved her baby so much she was so worried. She walked with the anesthesiologists all the way to the OR door. When she returned to the floor she looked forlorn, you could just see how very anxious she was. Once she returned from surgery, the ayi was so very happy to see her new look. This dedicated ayi held this child the rest of the day and wouldn’t put her down.Baby Heng has the most big, beautiful eyes. This child took the longest time in PACU because he was running a temperature. The nurses and doctors gave him extra loving care. Once he was down in the floor ICU he did great and was just as bright eyed as before. Not only did he get his lip repaired, but the doctors also put in ear tubes.
Ran Ran, the last cleft surgery of the day was the quietest and one of the sweetest baby. This little girl had the most petite features and had such a perfect repair. This baby also received a set of ear tubes. Isn't she just so beautiful?
Rose is the child with the nasal hemangioma just like Anna Gong Lu. Anna was fascinated by this baby and loved the fact that her nose would soon be fixed too. Rose was given her name because they knew that she would bloom like a flower after surgery. The last surgery of the day, Rose did wonderfully. Dr. Buckmiller was able to remove a lot of the tumor and was happy to find that much of her nose structure was there. I can’t wait to see what her nose will look like after the bandage is removed. Dr. Buckmiller, touring after surgeries, will be going to her city to remove her stitches in a week.
In between surgeries, Dr. Buckmiller also examined the children with hemangiomas. She was very optimistic when she looked at Shu, the little boy from Guangdong with the large facial hemangioma. She has plans to remove some of the tumor around his upper eye and his lip the next time she comes to China. She was also able to explain to the ayi that his tumor will not grow any more and will continue to get better. This little boy was just so content and gave us the biggest smile. In addition to Shu, Dr. Buckmiller looked at Feng, the little girl from Hunan with the tumor on her tongue. She identified this as a venous malformation and said that this tumor will continue to grow. She also plans to treat this when she returns. The last exam was on a baby girl with a hemangioma on her bottom. This little girl has been a child who has been in our Heartbridge unit and is absolutely gorgeous!During the surgeries, so much of the day was spent learning and exchanging ideas. In the OR, the medical staff from both the US and China spent much of the day learning from each other. They had fun talking about the names for the instruments and tools, learning both the Chinese and English names.
Dr. Chu and Dr. Chen, the surgeons from SCMC watched very closely and took many photos. The SCMC anesthesia staff worked with the US anesthesia team. We learned that SCMC has one of the very best anesthesia departments in all of China. What wonderful teamwork, all in the name of healing these amazing little children.We hope you enjoy some of the other images taken from today. Thank you for your wonderful notes of encouragement, your prayers, and your support of all the kids.
Karen Maunu
Medical Director
