ST. THOMAS — Earlier this week a team of clinicians at Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC) successfully performed the first ever cleft palate repair in the Virgin Islands, the hospital has announced. The patient, a 3 year old girl affectionately known as \u201cAngel\u201d is doing well and expected to be released by week\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Angel was born with a cleft of the soft palate and partial cleft of the hard palate, according SRMC. This caused her to have problems with eating, breathing, hearing and speech development.\u00a0 Her parents said she was also plagued by frequent colds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a year ago we had a consultation with a hospital in Miami to repair Angel\u2019s cleft palate and were not at all happy with how we were treated.\u00a0 Everything was very rushed and we didn\u2019t feel like they really cared about our daughter\u201d said Angel\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
The family had made plans to travel to Houston, TX to consult with another surgeon when they learned that SRMC could accommodate the surgery and that there was now a surgeon in St. Thomas, Dr. Eric J. Stelnicki, who could perform the surgery. They were overjoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to have this procedure done at home was a blessing,” said the child’s mother. “The doctors here made us feel comfortable. They fully explained exactly what they were going to do and kept us informed throughout the procedure. Even Angel was able to understand what was going to happen and was at ease because of how the staff dealt with her. On a scale of 1 to 10, they were an 11.”<\/p>\n
Angel\u2019s parents went on to say that being at home with family around was a great comfort. It was also much less costly to be able to the procedure here rather than having to deal with airfare, accommodations, transportation and weeks of missed work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so grateful for the care given to our daughter by Dr. Stelnicki, Dr. Smolarz and the entire team at the hospital. By the weekend our baby will be home with us,” the mother went on.<\/p>\n
This birth defect in which the roof of the baby\u2019s mouth, or palate, does not develop normally during pregnancy, leaves an opening or cleft that may go through to the nasal cavity. Babies with cleft palate are especially at risk of developing middle ear fluid and hearing loss. Depending on how far the cleft extends tooth development may be affected. Speech difficulties are common because the palate is used in forming sounds. Those affected by clefts may face social, emotional and behavioral problems due to differences in appearance and the stress of intensive medical care.\u00a0 Because the surgery to repair had not been available in the Virgin Islands, any child needing this procedure had to leave the territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so pleased to have worked with Dr. Smolarz to correct Angel\u2019s cleft palate. Her eating, breathing and speech will greatly improve as a result of this surgery. Our goal is to be able to provide this and other services to the people of the Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean while allowing them to stay close to home\u201d said Dr. Eric J. Stelnicki.<\/p>\n
The surgery is the first of a new plastic surgery program SRMC intends to build to provide life changing surgeries to both children and adults in the Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean.\u00a0 There are plans to provide the full gamut of reconstructive surgery for issues such as soft tissue repair, burns, breast reduction, breast reconstruction, hand and facial trauma and revision work.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlastic surgery not only corrects defects that can cause medical problems, but can be used to improve a person’s confidence, self-esteem and overall quality of life\u201d said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Luis Amaro. \u201cWe look forward to providing these services to the people of the Virgin Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite our challenges, the team at SRMC continues to look for ways to improve the quality of healthcare in the U.S. Virgin Islands and to seek out partnerships that increase the availability of services for our people\u201d said SRMC CEO Bernard A. Wheatley.v<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. THOMAS — Earlier this week a team of clinicians at Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC) successfully performed the first ever cleft palate repair in the Virgin Islands, the hospital has announced. The patient, a 3 year old girl affectionately known as \u201cAngel\u201d is doing well and expected to be released by week\u2019s end. Angel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[191,147],"tags":[6653,1247,121],"yoast_head":"\n