March
Newsletter
January India Trip
FOUR SITES IN FOUR WEEKS!
HTCNE Board Member Dr. Manoj Abraham
was the overall team leader for all four sites. 
He and OR Nurse Susan Ketigian were there for all four weeks.
Patient screening tent in Indore
Before After
UJJAIN / INDORE, write up by resident Dr. Jeffrey Cranford:

This past January marked the third  FACE TO FACE  trip to the Indian cities of Ujjain and Indore, located within the central state of Madya Pradesh, India.
 
Facial Plastic Surgeon  Dr. Manoj Abraham  helped to oversee this outreach in addition to a second surgical outreach to a neighboring area that followed.  
 
The trip was organized by  Healing the Children Northeast  in collaboration with  The India Project , and focused on alleviating the burden of cleft lip, cleft palate, and facial deformities in this region . Dr. Supriya Dixit Hayer of The India Project , along with her late father Dr. Sharad Kumar Dicksheet , has established multiple camp sites in India, and was critical in making local arrangements. The team drew from volunteers across the U.S. and comprised four surgeons along with a host of multi-disciplinary personnel, including  residents, pediatric anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, technicians, coordinators,  and  speech & swallow therapists.
 
At the trip’s outset, a snowstorm in the Northeast disrupted flights and ultimately delayed the team’s arrival in Ujjain, however, the team managed to effectively screen and operate on  16 patients  in just a two-day span.
 
The trip continued on with travel to the nearby city of Indore, where a private hospital had generously donated it’s operating rooms for the team’s use. The mission had been widely publicized by the hospital and local government, drawing one patient with a cleft lip to seek care from nearly 500 miles away.
 
Hundreds of people gathered under a large tent to be screened by the team, who saw patients alongside local oculoplastic and oral surgeons. Approximately  250 patients were screened in total .

The following four days of operating brought the total  case number to 75 , which included complex reconstructive cas es. Partnership with many local surgeons, including Dr. Rahul Chhajlani in Indore, allowed for the US teams to undertake larger cases that involved close follow up and secondary procedures, such as the division pedicled flaps. Coordination with local providers has been instrumental in delivering quality care and ensuring post operative follow up. 

Patient data was inputed into the  American Academy of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery FACE TO FACE  database, which is a web-based tool that allows for the tracking of patients to ensure appropriate follow up and care. On this particular trip, the database was utilized when returning patients were recognized, allowing for quick retrieval of clinical information from prior visits.
The resources provided by FACE TO FACE,
Healing the Children, and The India Project,
coupled with the generous efforts
of dedicated volunteers, continues to make
trips such as this one great successes.
Surgical team (from left to right): 
Jeffrey Cranford , Otolaryngology resident; 
Manoj Abraham , facial plastic surgeon; 
Regina Rodman , facial plastic surgeon; 
Scott Montgomery , Otolaryngology resident; 
Matthew Johnson , facial plastic surgeon; 
Ryan Winters , facial plastic surgeon.



Indore Team
UJJAIN / INDORE : Jan 5 - 17, 2018

SURGEONS:
Manoj Abraham, MD Facial Plastics at all sites, NY
Matthew Johnson, MD Facial Plastics, IL (Springfield)
Ryan Winters, MD Facial Plastics, Akron OH
Regina Rodman, MD Facial Plastics, Houston TX
Jeffrey Cranford, MD (MTA Res), NY
Scott Montgomery, MD (MJ Res), IL

ANESTHESIA:
Alan Weissburg, MD Anesthesiologist, NY
Patricia Gremillion, CRNA, New Orleans, LA
Elizabeth Nelson, CRNA, New Orleans, LA
Lillian (Lilly) Fogarty, CRNA, New Orleans, LA
Vinh Tran, CAA Certified Anes Asst, St Louis MO

NURSING:
Susan Ketigian, RN, NY
Jessica Schnebly, RN, IL
Robin Steele, RN  (circulating), New Orleans, LA
Destiny Thompson, CST, Houston TX

PACU STAFF:
Sree Chirumamilla, MD  Pediatrician, NY
Kelly Winchell, Pediatric NP, NV
Kristie James, CPNP, Ft Collins CO
Amy Smith, RN, CA
Antonietta Calento, RN, NY
Peter Campbell, RN, CA

SPEECH TEAM:
Helen Buhler, Ph.D., CCC - SLP, NY
Shari Berkowitz, Ph.D., CCC - SLP, NY
Aarti Garg, SLP, NY
Tara Clinton, SLP student at Mercy, NY






Dr. Rahul Seth with a patient following revision of a
traumatic nasal scar
JAIPUR / MUMBAI, write up by resident Dr. Sean Alemi

The Northeast division of Healing the Children recently completed their  annual cleft lip and palate mission to India . This 2 week mission began in Rajasthan’s capital of Jaipur, in central India before heading to the coastal city of Mumbai.
 
In partnership with the  AAFPRS Foundation’s FACE TO FACE Program* , the 23-person mission team was led this second year by  Dr. Rahul Seth MD , an ABFPRS certified facial plastic surgeon from University of California, San Francisco, CA and  Dr. Manoj T. Abraham MD , FACS, an ABFPRS certified facial plastic surgeon practicing in Poughkeepsie, NY.
 
Additional surgical staff included  Dr. Lianne de Serres MD , a pediatric otolaryngologist practicing in Westchester, NY,  Dr. Siva Chinnadurai MD  a pediatric otolaryngologist practicing in Minneapolis, and  Dr. Sean Alemi MD,  a fifth year otolaryngology resident from the University of California, San Francisco. Anesthesia care was provided by a stellar group led by  Dr. Amit Gupta  a pediatric anesthesiologist from Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA.
 
This year, Healing the Children once again partnered with  The India Project, Inc  in their recruitment and screening of patients.   Dr. Supriya Dixit Hayer  of  The India Project , along with her late father  Dr. Sharad Kumar Dicksheet , has established multiple camp sites in India, and was critical in making local arrangements. 
 
As with prior missions to India, the team was enthusiastically greeted in both cities by a waiting room full of families and their children, some of who traveled up to 48 hours to reach  Bhandari Hospital and Research Cente r in Jaipur and  Bhaktivedanta  hospital in Mumbai.
 
With the assistance of a pediatrician, speech and language pathologist, anesthesiologists, nursing staff and several local staff, the team screened a record number  230 patients  this year. From this group, the surgical team successfully completed  68 operations  during their 2 week mission – highlighted by  15 primary cleft lip repairs 7 primary cleft palate repairs , 12 unilateral cleft lip revisions 18 primary cleft rhinoplasties 6 frenuloplasties , and  12 scar revisions .
 
In addition,  Lindsay Naylor , head of the speech and language pathology group was able to screen and work with a number of patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency and other congenital and acquired speech and swallowing issues.
 
The team is already planning for next year, with ongoing efforts to expand patient recruitment and surgical care during the week. To get involved or to make a donation, please visit us online at  www.htcne.org  

About AAFPRS and FACE TO FACE. 
This program is only open to AAFPRS (American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery ) members as a members benefit. Some of our traveling doctors who are members of the AAFPRS led by Dr. Abraham helped to design and build the FACE TO FACE database. The database launched in 2014 with just 84 patients, and now has over 2300. FACE TO FACE consists of three volunteer programs: International, Domestic Violence and Faces of Honor (Military). There is a Physicians Guide available through AAFPRS that outlines in detail the procedures for each of these three programs, including how to sanction an international mission to have it included in the database. Dr. Abraham is the current Chair of FACE TO FACE for the AAFPRS. 
 Dr. Sean Alemi (left) and Dr. Manoj Abraham performing a cleft lip repair in Jaipur, India.
Dr. Lianne de Serres (left), Dr. Sean Alemi (right) and Dr. Manoj Abraham (right corner) rounding on a post-operative cleft lip repair patient in Mumbai, India. 
 Dr. Lianne de Serres with a patient following bilateral cleft lip repair in Jaipur, India. 
  Dr. Siva Chinnadurai (left) and Dr. Manoj Abraham rounding on a patient following cleft lip repair in Jaipur, India.





Mumbai Team
JAIPUR / MUMBAI: Jan 13 - 25, 2018 / 27 or 28 if side trip.

SURGEONS:
Manoj Abraham, MD Facial Plastics at all sites, NY
Rahul Seth, MD Facial Plastics, San Fran CA
Lianne de Serres, MD Pediatric Otolaryngology, NY 
Siva Chinnadurai, MD Pediatric Otolaryngology, Nashville TN
Sean Alemi, MD Otolaryngology Resident, San Fran CA

ANESTHESIA:
Patrick Chery, MD, NY
Seema Gandhi Shah, MD, San Fran CA
Amit Gupta, MD, San Fran CA
Stephanie Langelaar, CRNA, San Fran CA

NURSING / OR :
Debbie Fritz, RN, NY
Susan Ketigian, RN, NY
John Cornejo, RN, San Fran CA
Maria Harris, RN, San Fran CA
Angela Schommer, RN, San Fran CA
Jignesh Patel, ST, Instrument Specialist, San Fran CA

PACU STAFF:
Glenn Castaneda, MD, NY
Carolyn Mitchell Alemi, NP, San Fran CA
Beth Beals, RN, NY
Cortney Kimiko Williams, RN, San Fran CA

SPEECH TEAM:
Lindsay Naylor, M.S., CCC-SLP, NY

ADMINISTRATORS:
Dana Buffin, Dubai
Before
After
Be sure to follow our next months newsletter
which will feature our India speech teams!
HELP US TO EARN MONEY FOR HTCNE
and get in shape at the same time!
 
HTCNE  has applied to be one of the charities that 
Charity Miles  sponsors.
While we are waiting to be accepted, you can help.
 
Charity Miles  is a free iPhone/Android app that enables you to earn corporate sponsorships for charity whenever you walk, run or bike.  Move with purpose and earn money for charity.
 
  1. Download the Charity Miles App
  2. Select one of the 42 charities that is listed (we will notify you as soon as we are accepted)
  3. Once you select a charity, you can join a team (bottom of screen)
  4. Search for #HTCNE team and join
  5. Each time you exercise - walk, run, bike, other - charity miles donates money to your charity
  6. You must have your phone on your person as you exercise
 
IT'S THAT EASY
 
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