Oksana Jackson, an American surgeon of Ukrainian origin, and specialists from St. Nicholas Hospital operated on children with facial defects. In three days, they consulted 50 children and operated on 13.
Oksana Jackson is the vice president of the American Cleft Lip and Palate Association. The doctor has Ukrainian roots and came to Lviv following the call of her heart.
“My parents were born here, so I feel that I need to go to Ukraine in this difficult time and help as much as I can,” she says.
One of those who were helped by an American surgeon, Petryk and Anastasia, pupils of the Chinadiiv Children’s Home. They are brother and sister, and both were born with facial defects. Petryk has a cleft lip. In addition to the cosmetic defect, this defect also prevented the boy from breathing freely. Nastya also had breathing problems. The girl has a complete cleft of the upper palate, which also stopped the growth of teeth. When the teachers of the orphanage found out that the American plastic surgeon Oksana Jackson would come to the St. Nicholas Hospital to operate, they decided to bring the children to Lviv for a consultation.
After examining Petryk and Nastya, specialists assured that both children should be operated on, because it is necessary to correct such defects at an early age. The further, the more difficult it is to correct such defects.
9-year-old Petryk was the first to be operated on. When he was a baby, the boy had already undergone surgery, but that operation was not enough. Petryk was left with asymmetry of his lips and nose. Together with an American colleague, the surgeons corrected this defect. They removed the scar and corrected the lips, and the nasal membrane was straightened. So, in addition to the cosmetic effect, the boy will finally be able to breathe better.
Surgeons performed bone plastic surgery on 8-year-old Nastya, a rare and complex surgical intervention. Specialists formed a bone from the spongy substance of the thigh and implanted it in the gum – in the area where there was a crack. And in six months, orthodontists will work with the girl to solve her teeth problem.
The hospital’s specialists, together with an American colleague, performed the same complex bone grafting surgery on as many as three children. In addition, cleft palate and lips were operated on, congenital and acquired facial defects were corrected for children aged 4 months to 15 years. A total of 13 interventions were performed.
American surgeon Oksana Jackson visited Lviv and St. Nicholas Hospital for the first time.