{"id":1986,"date":"2024-08-19T17:31:18","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T00:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mercyships.onpressidium.com\/?page_id=1986"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T22:50:19","slug":"plastic-reconstructive-surgery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/plastic-reconstructive-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastic Reconstructive Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Plastic\r\n

\r\n\t\tReconstructing hope\r\n\t<\/h2>\r\n

\r\n\t\tTumours, burn scar contractures and conjoined fingers\/toes\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Gallery-Plastic-Reconstructive-Surgery-patient-with-fire\"\r\n

\r\n\t\tDeformities in Developing Nations\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\t\tWhy is the need so extreme?\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

For the poor in developing nations, accessing necessary medical and surgical care is extremely difficult due to their remote location, lack of medical facilities and financial constraints. Conditions that would be treated in the early stages in developed nations can become life-threatening. The consequence for many is a lifetime of disability and rejection, and sometimes even death.<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"patientin-houleye-krankenschwester-tanz-haende-757x520-1\"\r\n

\r\n\t\tTumours\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Benign skin growths such as cysts and\u00a0lipomas begin as small growths but, without treatment, can become disfiguring and\u00a0debilitating. Those suffering from these\u00a0tumours often become social outcasts.<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Paul_Bernard_Plastische_Chirurgie_Verbrennung_Arm02\r\n

\r\n\t\tBurn Scar Contractures\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Many Africans cook with open fires, boiling\u00a0water and oil in the open air. People, very\u00a0often children, can be severely burned in\u00a0accidents, resulting in scarring that reduces\u00a0the mobility of limbs. Many cases of severe\u00a0burns require skin transplants to release burn contractures and restore range\u00a0of motion.<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Gallery-Crew-Emil-with-a-baby\"\r\n

\r\n\t\tConjoined Fingers\/Toes\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Webbing of the digits, or syndactyly, is not\u00a0caused by the fingers sticking together in the\u00a0womb; rather, it is caused by failure, during\u00a0the sixth to eighth weeks of intrauterine life,\u00a0of the usual longitudinal interdigital necrosis\u00a0that normally separates the fingers. This\u00a0“webbing” is the most common abnormality\u00a0of the newborn hand. (PMC)<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tTransformational Healthcare through Onboard Surgery Programmes\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\t\tSurgery\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Mercy Ships partners with the local medical\u00a0community in each country to identify\u00a0surgical candidates. In onboard operating\u00a0theatres, highly skilled surgeons perform\u00a0thousands of free maxillofacial, general\u00a0and reconstructive operations, transforming\u00a0and saving lives.<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Paul\r\n

\r\n\t\tRecovery & Counselling\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Patients recuperate under world-class care\u00a0in the ship’s hospital ward, where they are\u00a0also provided with opportunity for moral\u00a0and spiritual support. Mercy Ships aims to\u00a0provide a caring, holistic environment to\u00a0facilitate patient recovery.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tTraining, Capacity Building & Prevention\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Mercy Ships collaborates with local\u00a0governments and ministries of health to\u00a0improve national healthcare infrastructure.\u00a0Mercy Ships partners with local surgeons\u00a0and nurses to provide training and\u00a0educational opportunities in appropriate techniques. In addition, Mercy Ships\u00a0contributes to the long-term eradication of\u00a0preventable diseases and resulting extreme\u00a0conditions by conducting community health\u00a0education programmes.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tAccomplishment\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t

Since the beginning of the charity’s surgical programme, Mercy Ships has performed\u00a0more than 108,000 life-changing surgical procedures<\/strong>\u00a0such as facial reconstruction and correction of deformities caused by severe burns and congenital abnormalities.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tPlastic Reconstructive Surgery\r\n\t<\/h1>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"ms-icon-med-cercle_Recon_Plast\"\r\n

\r\n\t\tOther Health Topics\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\tMaxillofacial Surgery<\/a>\r\nWomen’s Health<\/a>\r\nOrthopaedic Program<\/a>\r\nPalliative Care<\/a>\r\nGeneral Surgery<\/a>\r\nDental\/Oral Health<\/a>\r\n

Eye Care<\/a><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t\tStatistics   (Source: WHO)<\/small>\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t
    \r\n
  • An estimated 265,000 deaths every year are caused by burns – the vast majority occur in low-and middle-income countries. (Source: WHO)<\/li>\r\n
  • Burns are the 11th leading cause of death of children aged 1-9 years and are also the fifth most common cause of non-fatal childhood injuries. Children under five in Africa have almost three times the incidence of burn deaths than infants worldwide.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Joan-Ross\r\n\t

    “I saw a documentary about 15 years ago in a hotel room and I sat down on the end of the bed and wept and a voice inside me said ‘one day you will serve on that ship’ it never left me and came to mind often in big and small ways.”<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t\tVolunteer Surgeon, Dr. Joan Ross from Sarnia, ON\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n

    \r\n\t\tProgram Photos\r\n\t<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Isabelle\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks to Mercy Ships, Isabelle received a free, life-changing surgery to remove a large tumour on her cheek. Photo Credit Catrice Wulf. \u00a9 Mercy Ships\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Paul\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Bernard, plastics patient, before reconstructive surgery. \u00a9 Mercy Ships\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Paul\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Bernard, plastics patient, outside his home after reconstructive surgery. \u00a9 Mercy Ships\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Reconstructing hope Tumours, burn scar contractures and conjoined fingers\/toes Deformities in Developing Nations Why is the need so extreme? For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2001,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Birth defects, burns and illness often cause deformities we correct through surgeries: including burn-scar contractures, benign tumours, chronic ulcers, combined fingers and many others.","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1986","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7986,"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1986\/revisions\/7986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mercyships.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}