Community Corner

Saving Children with Sophisticated but Simple Surgeries

Michael Koch changes lives with medical implements and education. Sponsored by Grape Nuts.

 

About this column: We’re dedicating the months of April and May to telling the stories of people locally and statewide who have overcome the impossible, affecting positive change in their own lives, or in communities.

A resident of Bedford Corners, R. Michael Koch, MD is headed to Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

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Koch is ne of the doctors in the New York Group for Plastic Surgery, which has offices in Cortlandt, Goshen and Tarrytown, He also practices at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor. The Bedford Corners resident travels annually to lend his skills to doctors and patients in the developing world. He spoke to Patch before he left.

What's the biggest challenge that you face?

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The challenge that we have in going overseas is actually two-fold. The first is to bring the surgical expertise we have to areas that are underserved and the second is to partner with the local doctors and teach them the procedures. Many of the procedures are not complicated ... but for children, timing for these procedures is everything. As you can imagine, if you have a deformity that’s obstructing growth, there’s a window of opportunity but that window will close.

There are several organizations we work with. The one I’m going on in a couple of weeks is Health and Humanitarian Aid Foundation, the HHAF. I also partner with a charity named Healing the Children. It gets its funding from the Smile Train.

My trip is to the same location I was last year. It’s exciting because I’ll be able to follow up with some of the patients I saw last year and work with the same local surgeon. One patient—a boy, 16 who always wanted to play soccer—his toes grew to an abnormal size. I resected the bone...and he’s playing soccer now. That’s a very gratifying case.

The developing world is very connected to the Internet. When I started these trips we would spend days on scheduling once we got there. Now I’m already exchanging emails with my surgeon in Ghana. It’s remarkable how connectivity in the hills of North Viet Nam is better than in northern Westchester.

The challenge is how do we get our expertise to places where it’s really needed and how do we leave behind a trained individual who can follow up. What we try and do is go in and create an educational legacy that will allow future generations of children to be helped.

Here’s a perfect example. If you get a child who’s been burned—and in developing countries thre are open flames all the time—say a toddler gets the top of his foot burned.

In this country you’d be evaluated, you’d get a little skin graft, and your ankle would grow just fine.

There, it becomes a scar. That joint as it’s trying to grow will fall in on itself—the kid will hobble all his life and all for want of a 15-minute operation.  

What inspired you to take on this challenge?

I started going overseas on trips in 1998. It’s been pretty much once a year.

I think it’s just part and parcel of caring for the most needy patients in areas where there’s just no other resource available.

There’s something about a child. All you have to do is one trip and then you’re hooked for life. One of the great things about plastic surgery is it’s a portable specialty. I don’t need complicated equipment. These are critical surgeries, don’t get me wrong. They just don’t require complicated instrumentation. We try and bring instruments with us that are needed there. I’ve donated quite a few.

How will success be achieved?

I think success has to be measured locally. If you take a global view of the problem it’s a bit overwhelming.

But if I can create locations where children get the care that they need and I’m only needed for the really difficult things that the local surgeons can’t repair, then that will be a success.

 

Click on these links to learn more about the Health and Humanitarian Aid Foundation, the Smile Train and Healing the Children.

 

About this sponsorship: Patch has teamed up with Grape-Nuts cereal on this "What’s Your Mountain” campaign to find inspirational stories in our towns and celebrate folks who have affected positive change in their lives and communities.


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