Restoring dignity

14.09.2009- Mercy Ships’ reconstructive surgery programme aims to reduce the effects of neglected trauma, disease and congenital conditions by providing specialized surgical treatment.

In onboard operating theatres, highly skilled surgeons perform each year hundreds of free maxillo-facial and reconstructive operations, transforming faces, saving lives and restoring dignity.

But why are the cases often so extreme?

For the poor in developing nations, accessing necessary medical and surgical care is extremely difficult due to their remote location, lack of medical facilities and personnel and financial constraints. Conditions that would be treated in the early stages in Europe develop to the point of being life threatening and extreme. The consequence for many is a lifetime of disability, disfigurement and rejection, if not death.

Cleft lip and palate

Cleft lip and/or palate is a condition easily repaired in the developed world, but cleft-lip babies born in developing countries often die because they cannot feed properly. Children who do survive are often rejected because of their deformity.

Tumours

Disfiguring tumours often begin as small growths, but when left untreated, grow to the point of being life threatening as a per­son struggles to breathe or eat, and render their victims social outcasts. The final outcome is often death by suffocation or starvation.

Noma

Not seen in the Western world since con­centration camps, Noma, or cancrum oris, is an infectious disease destroying oro-facial tissues. Predominantly affecting young children, the disease advances quickly, spreading to the nose, lips and cheeks, literally “eating the flesh”. Though both pre­ventable and treatable, thousands die from the condition each year. Those who survive are left with not only extreme disfigurement, but also experience difficulty eating, breathing and swallowing.

Burn scar contractures

According to the WHO, accidents involving burns are among the most common categories of childhood injury in developing nations. Each year, many are left with permanent disabilities, when the skin contracts, making movements of the arms, legs or head impossible. Such accidents commonly occur due to open fires or petrol lamps that are used every day for cooking, heating, or lighting.

Injuries & Trauma

Injuries from violence, accidents and the consequences of war create acute and neglected trauma not seen in developed nations. Often injuries are compounded from lack of adequate treatment and require specialized procedures to provide relief.