Health News
After Louisville doctors performed a life-saving operation on her failing heart, a 16-year-old girl is set to return to her native Haiti. Stephanie Privert, left, came to Kentucky after she became ill following the deadly 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country, The Courier-Journal's Chris Kenning reports. (C-J photo by Pam Spaulding)
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As a sign of their commitment in providing medicine for those who are less fortunate, LifeBridge Health has several employees who regularly go on medical missions. This week, a team of volunteers from Sinai Hospital head to Haiti, many for the second...
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by Heather Kline, P.A. - C, MMS Sinai Hospital Department of Orthopedic Surgery After I heard about the Haiti earthquake on January 12, I felt compelled to do whatever I could to help people there. I knew going in what needed to be done, but never realized...
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Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, several LifeBridge Health employees have volunteered their time and services to earthquake victims. Among these are physicians Shawn Standard and Albert Aboulafia. An orthopedic surgeon and co-director of...
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Health News
Teenager set to return to Haiti after Louisville docs fix her heart
After Louisville doctors performed a life-saving operation on her failing heart, a 16-year-old girl is set to return to her native Haiti. Stephanie Privert, left, came to Kentucky after she became ill following the deadly 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country, The Courier-Journal's Chris Kenning reports. (C-J photo by Pam Spaulding)"We hate to see that she's obliged to return to a tough situation, but we can't keep her here forever," said Dr. Erle Austin, the lead heart surgeon during Privert's operation. "She's so much better than when she arrived."
Privert was watching her mother cook soup when the earthquake struck. Her family was able to escape, but her home near Port-au-Prince was destroyed. Privert's health quickly deteriorated and she was brought to a clinic run by American doctors from Medical Teams International. Deciding she could not be treated in hospitals in Haiti or neighboring Dominican Republic, the doctors got in touch with non-profit group Healing the Children, which has a chapter in Louisville. Its members helped her fly to Kentucky. She arrived weighing just 70 pounds.
Doctors determined she had a leaking heart valve, which was causing severe pulmonary hypertension and lung problems, Kenning reports. In August, doctors at Kosair Children's Hospital decided to repair the valve, rather than replace it with a mechanical one, which would require expensive anti-rejection drugs, or a pig valve that would wear out more quickly.
Since, she has been recovering, staying with host families, learning English and attending school. The Haitian Christian Outreach has raised money needed to start rebuilding Privert's family home in Haiti. (Read more)
- Louisville Doctors Help Woman With Extremely Rare Condition
Louisville doctors have helped a woman with an extremely rare type of dwarfism deal with the deterioration caused by her disorder. Monica Zaring, who is one of just two women in the world who has osteodysplastic microcephalic dysplasia, has had her shoulder...
- Team Sinai Heads To Haiti
As a sign of their commitment in providing medicine for those who are less fortunate, LifeBridge Health has several employees who regularly go on medical missions. This week, a team of volunteers from Sinai Hospital head to Haiti, many for the second...
- My Experience In Haiti
by Heather Kline, P.A. - C, MMS Sinai Hospital Department of Orthopedic Surgery After I heard about the Haiti earthquake on January 12, I felt compelled to do whatever I could to help people there. I knew going in what needed to be done, but never realized...
- Orthopedic Surgeon Reflects On Haiti Experience
Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, several LifeBridge Health employees have volunteered their time and services to earthquake victims. Among these are physicians Shawn Standard and Albert Aboulafia. An orthopedic surgeon and co-director of...
- Riao Doctor Treating Injured Haitians
A team from Sinai Hospital?s Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics recently arrived in the Dominican Republic to treat Haitians injured in the earthquake. Team members include Shawn Standard, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Marie Gdalevitch,...