“When I was first born, I didn’t dare look at my child. Every time I looked at my child, I couldn’t hold back my tears because I felt so sorry and sorry for my child. I don’t know if my child’s illness can be cured or what his future will be like. Now when I see my child healthy and his appearance improving day by day, I feel it’s miraculous, everything is beyond my expectations.”
This is the confession of the mother of baby NH (10 months old, in Ho Chi Minh City) who was unfortunately born with the rare Treacher Collins disease that causes craniofacial deformities: missing ears, eye deformity, hypothalamus. Mandibular dysplasia, maxillary hypoplasia, cleft palate, cheekbone defects on both sides have just been developed by the doctors of the Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery – National Children’s Hospital. Reshape the defective eye area, bringing the child’s eyes back to their normal physiological position.
The girl has a rare disease that causes craniofacial deformities
Looking at her beloved daughter sleeping soundly after surgery, NH’s mother emotionally recalled: “My family took her to many places for examination but nowhere could they find the best treatment plan for her. At that time, I thought my child’s illness could not be cured. I researched and took my child to the National Children’s Hospital with the hope of treating his chin to make it easier for him to eat and drink. But beyond my expectations, here I was examined by doctors from the Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery, identified the correct disease and built a suitable treatment roadmap for each stage… When I heard the news of my child’s illness, I could With treatment, my child will have each defective part reshaped and will become more and more beautiful. I feel extremely surprised and happy, everything has exceeded my expectations.”
Doctor Dang Hoang Thom – Head of the Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery, National Children’s Hospital, said: Baby NH has Treacher Collins syndrome, which affects the development of bones and tissues on the face, causing baby NH to be deformed. Severe craniofacial disease: Missing ears; deformity in the eye area, with gaps in bones 6 and 8 in the maxillofacial area, causing the child’s eye socket to be pulled downward; mandibular hypoplasia; maxillary hypoplasia; cleft palate; Cheekbone defect on both sides. Luckily, the child’s brain is not affected.
After conducting a multi-specialty examination and consultation, the doctors determined that the child’s condition was a difficult case, with very complex craniofacial deformities, seriously affecting the child’s quality of life and future. , it is necessary to carefully plan the surgery according to a roadmap appropriate to the child’s condition and age.

Doctor Dang Hoang Thom – Head of the Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery explains to the family the treatment plan for baby NH
The plastic surgery plan for pediatric patients is built in 4 stages. Accordingly, in phase 1, children receive early intervention for deformities around the eye socket, returning the eyes to their normal physiological position, and preparing the software for bone intervention and cheekbone grafting. for children in the following stages. In phase 2, the child will have the lower jaw shaped, reconstructed the ascending branch and angle of the lower jaw, and patched the cleft palate to help the child eat and drink more easily. Stage 3, the child will receive bone grafting and cheekbone shaping on both sides using autologous skull bones. Stage 4, when children are over 7 years old, they will have ear surgery.
“A new face, a new future” gradually opens for a little girl with a rare craniofacial deformity
Doctor Dang Hoang Thom – who directly operated on baby NH, said: “We chose to focus on intervention around the child’s orbit at the earliest stage because the patient did not have hypoplasia of the body of the mandible. Mainly hypoplasia of the ascending branch of the mandible, so the patient does not suffer from respiratory compression. Meanwhile, in the eye area, the child has gaps 6 and 8 in the bone, the external canthal ligament is missing, the external canthus on both sides is lower than the normal physiological position, and lacks soft tissue muscle organization. lower eyelids, causing droopy eyelids, frequent tears, and limited viewing angle. Without surgery or early intervention, it will affect the child’s vision and aesthetics.”
After a nearly 2-hour surgery, doctors reconstructed the lateral canthal ligaments on both sides; Change the position of the outer eye corner to the normal physiological position (horizontal position instead of falling down like the baby’s pathology); Compensate for skin and muscle defects in the lower eyelid area by transferring the skin-muscle flap taken from the upper eyelid area; Close the bone gap and shape the orbital floor on both sides.
Immediately after surgery, the child’s eye position returned to its normal physiological position. 4 days after surgery, the swelling in the child’s eyes was reduced and the facial deformity was significantly improved. “Before surgery, the child’s upper eyelids were pulled down, there were no eyelid folds, making the child’s face always sad. After surgery, the eyelids are naturally shaped, the child’s eyes are wide open and balanced” – Dr. Thom happy to say.
“It’s only been a few days but my face has changed significantly, I’m much prettier now, my eyes are big and round, my smile is very cute. When I look at my child, I see that there are no longer many differences compared to other children like before. In just a little while, I will have surgery to correct other defects, and then I will become a beautiful little girl. I feel very joyful and happy. I would like to thank Dr. Thom and the doctors and nurses at the Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery, National Children’s Hospital for wholeheartedly treating my child, helping him greatly improve his appearance” – young mother Share with eyes full of joy and hope.
Leave a Reply