ABSTRACT
Although exact statistics are not available, Indian plastic surgeons see around 7,00,000-8,00,000 burn admissions annually with around 10,00,000 cleft patients yet to be operated. In spite of this voluminous load, India does not have national health programs for the various deformities Indian plastic surgeons typically treat. As Plastic Surgeons, it is our social responsibility to treat these patients and bring 'muskan' (smile in Hindi) back into their lives. Project Muskan was initiated as an innovative model for targeting these patients and is probably one of its kind in the field of plastic surgery in our country. It is unique because it is a perfect collaboration of government institutions, a Non Government Organization (NGO), and cooperative sectors providing free health care at the doorstep. Identification of the patients was done with the help of the extensive milk dairy network in the state of Gujarat. Provision of transport and other facilities was done by the NGOs and quality health care provision was taken care of by the government hospital. Project Muskan started from a single village but now covers around 3000 villages and tribal areas of Gujarat. It is a system that can be easily reproducible in all hospitals and has reestablished the faith of the common man in government institutes.
ABSTRACT
Maxillonasal dysplasia or Binder's syndrome is an uncommon congenital condition characterized by a retruded mid-face with an extremely flat nose. We report here six patients with maxillonasal dysplasia whose noses were corrected with onlay costal cartilage grafts using a combined oral vestibular and external rhinoplasty approach for nasal dorsal augmentation, columellar lengthening, and premaxillary augmentation. The cartilage graft was dipped in a solution of 100 ml 0.9% NaCl and one vial (80mg) gentamicin for 30 min to prevent warping. L struts made for nasal augmentation, columellar lengthening, and premaxillary augmentation were fixed to one another by slots made in the graft. This technique has been used in children, adults, and for secondary cases with promising results. All patients were of class I dental occlusion. The nasal and premaxillary augmentation which was monitored by serial photography was found to be stable over a follow-up period of three years.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We describe here a very rare congenital deformity that involves the splitting of the right upper limb with the superior limb articulating with the shoulder joint, and the inferior limb laterally attached to the chest wall. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The child with this rare split limb was treated by transferring the inferior limb on an islanded pedicle to the superior one while creating the hand. RESULTS: A unified limb was reconstructed while creating the hand without any compromise on the existing function and vascularity. The patient is on regular follow-up and further staged procedures have been planned to provide a better functional and aesthetic limb. CONCLUSION: The congenital deformity described here has not been mentioned in world literature so far and its embryological basis is a matter of discussion. Opinions regarding further management of this anomaly are invited from experts in the field.
