Six-year-old Lesray van Zyl of Klawer will have the opportunity to engage in contact sport and other activities, thanks to Tygerberg Academic Hospital’s Smile Week.
He will undergo surgery to repair a rare and debilitating condition where his skull does not completely cover his brain, leaving it vulnerable to external trauma. Today, surgeons will kick off the Tygerberg Academic Hospital Smile Week, supported by Big Shoe - a German NGO dedicated to raising funds for children in need of reconstructive surgery in Africa.
In a five-hour surgery, the surgeons will repair his facial cleft with a split bone graft from another area of his skull. This involves harvesting bone from a different area, splitting the bone in two and then using one part of the bone to cover the skull defect, acting head of plastic surgery Dr Alexander Zuhlke said yesterday at the hospital, as Lesray and his mother, Anthia Titus, prepared for surgery.
Lesray was born with a Tessier 10 facial cleft, and as a result will not be able to play contact sports and do certain activities as he grows up, in addition to having to face the constant threat of potential damage to his exposed brain.
Lesray is one of 11 children earmarked to receive surgery during Smile Week. Titus said she was ecstatic that Lesray would be able to receive surgery.
“They called me and told us to come here because there are people here who can help my only son,” she said. “I’m happy this is happening. I want the best for him.”
Titus described her son as very shy and conscious of the defect, not wanting to look people in the face.
Zuhlke said Lesray’s
condition affected between one and five children out of every 100 000 births. “We are going to operate tomorrow, as well as Friday and Monday, on a variety of children. Some of them have cleft lip and palates, others have hand anomalies. The children are all from Cape Town,” Zuhlke said.
Smile Foundation operations executive Moira Gerszt said the plastic surgeons would work in a multidisciplinary team, with a neurosurgeon and an experienced anaesthetist, with paediatric patients.
“The team also includes paediatricians who will assist with Lesray’s care while he is in post-operative recovery. We are delighted to announce that with a total of 11 surgeries happening this Smile Week, we are assisting more children than would typically receive support during a normal theatre slate week.
"We have ensured that the Tygerberg Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery will receive additional support for these children in their care at this time,” Gerszt said.
For more information, contact Smile Foundation on www.smilefoundation.co.za or 086 1276 453. SMS “Smile” to 38413 to donate R10.