Case Studies

Ethan's Story

Ethan was born with a severe bilateral cleft lip and palate.  His mother, Diane, discovered Ethan’s diagnosis at her twenty week pregnancy scan.  Diane was well prepared for Ethan’s birth and Ethan has continued to thrive from the very beginning.

Gregory's Story

Gregory Jack is a boy from an island off mainland Papua New Guinea. He was brought here by his uncle and courtesy of Rotary for a facial advancement procedure to deal with his bulging unprotected eyes and probably severe sleep apnoea caused by a narrowed airway due to his retruded middle face.

Zoe's Story

Zoe is literally one in a million - she was born with a bilateral Tessier facial cleft. Her first reconstructive procedure took approximately six hours involving three craniofacial surgeons. Soon after a complex reconstruction of her face Zoe was up and about. She had learned to roll over, and her parents were astonished by her resilience and speedy recovery.

Ian's Story

Ian was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate that impaired his ability to feed properly. He had 3 procedures in his first year to repair his lip, nose and palate. Ian is now 2 years old; feeding and gaining weight appropriately.

Glen's Story

Glen was born with a severe cleft lip and palate and ended up with severe growth disturbance involving his face and nose. With surgery from the Department, his facial bones and jaws have been completely realigned and his nose rebuilt with a rib graft.

Kim's Story

Kim was a 7 year old girl from Vietnam, one of triplets. She was born with a central herniation of her brain through the forehead, no recognizable nose and her eyes at the side of her head.

Intellectually, Kim was the brightest of her siblings. She was reconstructed completely and now enjoys a normal lifestyle.