Dubai: Eight-year-old Mohammad Abdur Rahman Ahmad was born with congenital scoliosis, a spinal deformity that restricts the growth of his lungs. The condition that Mohammad suffers from wouldn’t have allowed him to reach adulthood without treatment.
The condition is relatively rare — but Mohammad’s case is unusually severe and even rarer. It’s estimated that one in 10,000 children suffers from congenital scoliosis. Some 60 per cent of those with the condition are girls. Two-thirds of the children who have an operation to fix the spinal and rib cage defect don’t require further surgeries. In Mohammad’s case, he’s had three operations so so far — and faces more every nine months or so, depending on his rate of growth.
The Little Wings Foundation, with the help of its network, helps children like Mohammad and funds his treatment.
“Everybody is chipping in a little bit to help make this surgery happen for Mohammad,” Dr Marc Sinclair said. He is the founder of the non-profit organisation and the paediatric orthopaedic surgeon that performed Mohammad’s surgery on Saturday.
Mohammad has had three surgeries since he was taken under the wing of the foundation. The first surgery was performed to separate his ribs that were fused together and cost over Dh400,000. Every subsequent surgery since then has cost over Dh100,000. The Little Wings Foundation has been funding these surgeries with the help of private donations from various schools, families and companies with corporate social responsibility strategies.
Apart from monetary donations, the foundation has had a lot of support from volunteers like Dr Fritz Hefti. He is the surgeon that performed Mohammad’s initial surgery in Switzerland. For the most recent surgery, Dr Hefti flew to Dubai for the weekend and assisted Dr Sinclair in the operation.
“We value the time that people and volunteers like Dr Hefti have invested in the organisation,” Gillian Beale said. She is the co-director of The Little Wings Foundation and a committed volunteer.
The surgery is performed by making an incision where an implant is needed, anchoring it to the spine or rib. This device is called a ‘VEPTR’ — Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib — and as Mohammad’s body grows, the device extends and grows with it until it reaches its limit and has to be replaced. In Mohammad’s case three VEPTR devices have been inserted so far and he has to have surgery every six to nine months to change the implant.
Dr Sinclair said the Little Wings Foundation will be facilitating Mohammad’s future treatment and, with their help, he has been given a fair chance to live a healthy and normal life.
“This is a process — it doesn’t end with one surgery,” Beale said. “But with the help of our network, we can carry on helping children like Mohammad who deserve a chance at a good life.”
The Little Wings Foundation can be reached at info@thelittlewingsfoundation.org.
— Maryam Mirza is an intern at Gulf News
