Guyanese boy undergoes cleft-palate surgery in US

Apr 16, 2014 News

US – (http://www.sj-r.com) – After a “very rough weekend,” a 10-year-old boy from Guyana who underwent cleft-palate repair surgery Friday at Memorial Medical Center recovered enough to swallow some food Monday, according to the doctor who brought him to Springfield.

Satchian Basdeo with Dr. Michael Neumeister, a plastic surgeon at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

“He’s super-tough,” Dr. Kristen Ferguson said of Satchian Basdeo. “He’s been a lot better today.”
The surgery, performed by two plastic surgeons from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, lasted more than seven hours — several hours longer than originally planned. But the operation was a success and will be followed with a second surgery to complete the repair two to three months from now, Ferguson said.
So far, Memorial and every physician involved with the boy’s medical care have agreed to provide Satchian’s services at no charge.
Ferguson estimated that the value of the care during the current hospital stay to be about $80,000. She expects Satchian to be discharged by the end of the week.
“I am just so grateful, really grateful for him, that people have been so generous,” Ferguson said. “I knew God had a plan.”
Ferguson, 39, a Springfield Clinic physician, brought Satchian back from Guyana, in February after she met him while she was part of a mission trip by members of Springfield First Church of the Nazarene.
Ferguson, an emergency medicine specialist now treating patients with occupational injuries, learned after meeting the boy that Satchian (pronounced “SACH-yen”) needed cleft-palate repairs after a previous surgical fix of the condition failed.
‘MY LITTLE BOY NOW’
Cleft palate occurs when tissues in the roof of the mouth don’t grow together properly, leaving a gap and an opening into the nasal passages. The condition also leaves a gap in the upper lip.
In the United States, the condition normally is fixed through surgery in infancy. If not fixed, the condition can lead to children and adults being ostracized, create problems with eating and impair a person’s ability to make certain language sounds.
Satchian’s lip remained repaired after the initial surgery, performed two years ago in Guyana by a visiting Cuban doctor. But a life-threatening infection the boy developed after that resulted in a golfball-sized hole reopening in the roof of his mouth.
The teasing from other children in the area where he lived with his family — West Ruimveldt, a suburb of the Guyanese capital of Georgetown — resulted in him attending only a week of school and never returning, Ferguson said.
With permission from Satchian’s parents, Ferguson was able to secure a passport and a temporary U.S. visa for him. The boy’s airfare was covered by frequent-flyer miles donated by one of Ferguson’s neighbours.
Satchian’s parents asked Ferguson to consider adopting Satchian to give him a better life. Ferguson and her husband, Lucas Gebhardt, 31, a heating and air-conditioning technician, haven’t made a decision on that option for the long term.