The World Pediatric Project (WPP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment conducted craniofacial assessments, surgery and care in St. Vincent from Jan. 20 to 25.
The craniofacial team evaluated children with head and facial anomalies and was led by pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon Dr. Jennifer Rhodes of The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Rhodes was supported by anaesthesiologist Dr. Seamus Dore as well as plastic surgeon Dr. Franklin Lew and operating room nurse Molly McCabe.
The team’s focus was to provide care for children with complex craniofacial cases and to follow up cases of children seen by our previous teams.
The team mainly operated on birth defects to the face and head particularly cleft lip and palate. Eighteen 18 children were seen and seven received surgical care.
The children of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Eastern Caribbean continue to benefit from the kindness, dedication, love and support of WPP and its drive to heal as much children as possible.
Dr. Rhodes has been working with WPP for about 10 years and this is her second trip to St. Vincent.
She said: “It’s such a fantastic and well run programme and the most rewarding part is getting to see the families and children do well from their surgeries. The thoughtfulness with which they develop their programmes and how they are so careful to really look at the communities they are working in and try and do what the community feels is most important.”
WPP continues to mobilise paediatric specialty teams with a cardiology diagnostic mission being led by Dr. Moskowitz slated for Jan. 31 and Feb. 2.
Parents and guardians of children who may need to be assessed are asked to contact World Pediatric Project office at 784-451-2989 for more information.