Alex’s update from China – August 17

 Today the surgeons had the two most complex cases of the entire trip.   Two boys that were born without the radial bone of the forearm, which causes severe immobility and use of the hand, were operated on throughout the day.  Dr. Thomas carefully dissected the skin, vessels, and nerves away from the inner wrist, so that it could be mobilized.  Following the dissection, a small metal wire was drilled into the ulna and into the bones of the palm, so that the hand and wrist could heal in a naturally straight resting position.  

Besides the surgeries, I got to ultrasound the kids we found with positive signs of hip dysplasia in our previous screening rounds.  I was really excited to use the $30,000 portable ultrasound machine!  It was really neat to be able to interpret the images.   I’ve always found ultrasound images to be the most ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but I think it must be easier when you get to do the ultrasound yourself.