Medical Missions: Maxillofacial
Surgery
Cleft
mission treats children in Ramallah
On March 1st, a 3-member team of doctors and
nurses from the USA arrived in the West Bank town of Ramallah
to begin a week of cleft lip and palate surgery on children
born with facial deformities. Led by Dr. Cary Canoun from
San Francisco, the team also included anesthesiologist Dr.
Paul Meyer and OR nurse Amal Jubran. 25 children are scheduled
to have surgery by the team, who will treat several difficult
babies with facial deformities. This mission is also sponsored
by The Smile Train and is part of the PCRF effort to build
a comprehensive cleft program in Palestine. Over 150 children
had surgery in 2007 and many more are scheduled more this
year. All three volunteers have been to Palestine through
the PCRF in the past.
American
plastic surgery mission visits Tulkarem
On December 2nd, 2007, a 4-member
plastic surgery team from the University of North Carolina
arrived in the West Bank town of Tulkarem to start a week
of cleft lip and palate surgery on children with facial deformities.
Led by surgeon Dr. John van Aalst, the team included anesthesiologist
Dr. Ron Herring, ENT surgeon Dr. Josh Demke and dental surgeon
Dr. Bilal Saib. After screening nearly 100 children from all
over the West Bank, the team started operating on December
3rd and will continue through the week, until the Cleft Conference
in Ramallah on December 9.
Maxillofacial
Mission Treats Dozens
of Children in Nablus
On January 6, 2007, a 7-member team of surgeons
and anesthesiologists from the USA and Mexico went on a joint
mission to Rafidiah Hospital in the West Bank town of Nablus
for a week of maxillofacial surgery on children with facial
deformities. Led by Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh from Chicago and
Dr. Juan Carlos Lopez Noriega from the University of Mexico,
they treated over 35 patents and screened over 100 more. They
have led several missions to Rafidiah Hospital over the past
few years with the PCRF and treated hundreds of patients.
Also on the mission were Dr. Omar Durra, anesthesia from Los
Angeles, Dr. Deane Marchbein, anesthesia, Dr. Imad Altamimi,
a surgeon from Jordan, and Drs. Fernando Jose Sandoval Portilla,
Jose Gregorio Ravelo Loreta and Salam Omar Salman.
Cleft
lip and Palate team treats children in Ramallah
On December 10, a 4-member team of doctors and nurses arrived
in the West Bank town of Ramallah to start a week long mission
of treating children with cleft lip and palate deformities.
Led by Dr. Mark Ray from Nemours Children's Hospital in Jacksonville,
FLA, the team included OR nurse Paulette Turner, speech and
audio therapist Catherine Swanson and Anesthesiologist Dr.
Bisi Ajala. Dr. Ray has led several surgery missions to Palestine
through the PCRF over the past few years. Over two dozen children
had surgery from this mission.
PCRF/Smile
Train hosts Cleft Conference in Ramallah
On, December 9th, The PCRF hosted the first and only international
cleft lip and palate conference in Palestine. Working in cooperation
with Smile Train and the PA Ministry of Health, the conference
worked to create the Palestinian Cleft Society under the leadership
of Prof. John van Aalst from the University of North Carolina.
PCRF promotes Cleft Surgery in Palestine
In June, the PCRF received a grant from the Smile Train Foundation
to address the issue of cleft lip and palate deformities among
Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
For years, the PCRF has been sending surgical teams to Palestine
to treat children with these deformities, but the Smile Train
grant will enable us to develop a comprehensive program in
which every child in Palestine suffering from cleft lip or
palate deformities will have surgery. Training of local surgeons
will also take place. An international consulting effort to
build local capacity will being under the leadership and guidance
of Dr. John van Aalst, Dr.
Mark Ray, Dr. Khaled Abu Ghazaleh, Dr.
Daniel Ravel and Dr. Zaheer Shah, all American surgeons
who have worked with the PCRF for years in addressing this
issue.
American
Cleft Lip Surgeon Returns to Tulkarem
On May 25, Dr. John van Aalst, the director of pediatric plastic
surgery at the University of North Carolina, returned with
anesthesiologist Dr. Ronald Herring, to Tulkarem for a week
of surgery on children with cleft lip and palate deformities.
This is part of a partnership with US Charity Smile Train
and Dr. van Aalst’s second mission to Palestine in 2007
through the PCRF. In January he treated over two-dozen children
in Tulkarem.
Swiss
Cleft Palate and Lip Mission to Hebron
On May 18, Dr. Brigitte Winkler, a pediatric surgeon from
Switzerland, and Dr. Maria Hermsen-Zach, an anesthesiologist
from Germany, arrived in the West Bank town of Hebron for
a week of treating children with cleft lip and palate deformities.
This is their third mission to Palestine through the PCRF.
This mission is also in cooperation with Smile Train in New
York, who are sponsoring the PCRF to address the problem of
cleft lip and palate deformities in Palestine. On May 19th,
the screened over 30 children and prepared a list for surgery.
They are working at the Alia Hospital in Hebron.
Maxillofacial
Mission Arrives in Nablus
On April 14, a six-member team of doctors and nurses from
North America and Jordan arrived in the West Bank town of
Nablus to start a week of maxillofacial surgery on children
at the Rafidiah Hospital. This is the third mission to Nablus
by this team, which is led by Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh from
Chicago and Dr. Juan Noriega from the University of Mexico.
Also on the mission were Dr. Bryan Saario, a surgeon, Dr.
Hussein Abu Khudair, chief of anesthesia at the King Hussein
cancer hospital, Dr. Fernando Portilla from Mexico and OR
nurse Karimah Tarazi from Jordan. The team is working in two
different operating theaters in the hospital and following
up children who were treated in the mission last year to Nablus.
Cleft
Surgery Mission to Tulkarem
On
January 20, Dr. John van Aalst from the University of North
Carolina arrived in the West Bank for a week of cleft lip
and palate surgery on children with facial deformities in
Tulkarem. This is Dr. van Aalst's first mission to Palestine
through the PCRF. On January 21, he screened over 40 children
with the PCRF staff from the Tulkarem and Qalqilya areas and
started surgery the following day. His mission is being co-sponsored
with Smile Train, an American charity dedicated to eradicating
children suffering from cleft lip and palate deformities in
the world.
American
Surgery Mission to Ramallah
On July 14, 2006 a 5-member team of doctors
and nurses traveled to Ramallah for a week of craneofacial
surgery on children with cleft lip and palate deformities.
Led by Dr. Mark Ray, who has led two previous surgery mission
to Ramallah over the past two years, they operated on children
with local surgeons, despite the deterioration of the situation
in Palestine. This was part of an ongoing effort by the PCRF
to treat every child in Palestine with cleft lip and palate
deformities.
Maxillofacial
mission treats over 50 patients in Nablus
On May 22nd, 2006, a 6-member
team of maxillofacial surgeons went to Rafidiah Hospital in
Nablus for a week of surgery. The team included surgeons Professors
Javier De La Fuente and Rafa Ruiz Rodrigues along with Dr.
Juan Carlos Lopez Noriega from the University of Mexico, along
with Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh from the University of Illinois.
They were supported by Dr. Hussein Abu Khudair, chief of anesthesiology
at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan, and OR
nurse Amal Jubran from Harrisburgh, PA. This was the second
mission in maxillofacial surgery by this team in the past
year. At the end of last November, they treated several dozen
patients during a week-long mission. This was the first PCRF
mission to a ministry of health hospital since the PCRF received
a year-long license from the Dept. of Treasury to continue
to treat patients in public Palestinian hospitals. 56 patients
had surgery on this mission.
Maxillofacial
Surgery Team Goes to Nablus
On November
25th, 2005, a 6-member team of volunteer surgeons and anesthesiologist
went to the West Bank city of Nablus for a week of maxillofacial
surgery at the Rafidiah government hospital. The team was
led by Professor Rafael Roriguez Ruiz Juan Carlos López
Noriega from the University of Mexico, and Dr. Juan Carlos
López Noriega. The team also included Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh
from the University of Illinois, Dr. Hussein Bushnaq from
Dubai, Dr. Zakaria Messieh from the University of Illinois,
and Dr. Omar Durra from Cedars Sinai Hospital in LA.
Surgery
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