4/15/08

A craniofacial surgery program has opened at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, in New York. Made possible by a gift to the Hospital from New York Presbyterian trustee David H. Komansky, and his wife, Phyllis Komansky, the program will offer comprehensive care, including corrective surgery, for deformities of the skull, face, and jaw.

"Children with these abnormalities suffer both physically and psychologically," says Samuel Rhee, MD, craniofacial surgeon at the hospital and director of the program. "Together with colleagues in surgery and other departments, I look forward to developing new procedures to improve the way these children look and feel."

An estimated one in 200 American babies require specialized care for congenital conditions, such as cleft lip and palate, or for issues resulting from traumatic injury or disease.

Working with Mark Souweidane, MD, chief of pediatric neurosurgery, Rhee intends on refining minimally-invasive techniques for treating craniosynostosis, the premature fusing of an infant’s skull that restricts skull growth.

For more information, visit www.nyp.org.

[Health News Digest, April 10, 2008]