Shout out for Expertise

I was contacted yesterday by a dear friend of mine whose infant nephew is suffering from a facial deformity. They are seeking a specialist team of a pediatric neurosurgeon and a craniofacial plastic surgeon. Do you know someone who is specialised in this area or can connect to someone who is? Please have them contact Julie Bolt <julie_bolt@yahoo.com> if they have any questions or wish to contact the parents. Thank you in advance for any help that you might be able to provide in connecting them to the specialists they need.

"He was diagnosed with metopic synostosis which is the premature closure of the suture from his hairline to his nose. However, that is only what caused the problem and is not what has to be fixed. Because his browbone did not develop it will continue to "sink" and his forehead will continue to form into a point. If not corrected, he would eventually look very deformed. This in no way effects his mental development. It is purely cosmetic, but absolutely necessary.

They will have to perform reconstructive surgery that will involve a pediatric neurosurgeon and a craniofacial plastic surgeon. We do not have a "team" like this in Greenville, so Dr. Troop has recommended a group in Atlanta. They will make an incision from ear to ear, pull the skin back, take the upper plates of bone in the forehead off and use some of this to reconstruct a new browbone. The surgery will take several hours and his hospital stay will range anywhere from 4 days to 10 depending on two main factors. His eyes will have to open(after the surgery they will swell shut) and his blood counts have to come back to normal. The main risk is blood loss. He said that the child's condition was very rare. The surgery will probably be performed in July because they would like for the existing browbone to be more developed. After the surgery he will then wear a helmet for 3 to 4 months or until he grows out of it."

So this may be off-topic, but if we do not use all the channels available to us when those we care about are in need, we are not being resourceful. So, start with email as my friend Julie did, then blast it out through social media and face to face network channels. There is nothing lost in finding solutions for those who need it most. For those it doesn't concern, let it act as a reminder to us that we should be thankful that we are not in this situation. Even more importantly that the least we can do is try to help, and it takes so little.