Local Surgeons Treat Cuba Toddler With Rare Disorder

Local Surgeons Treat Cuba Toddler With Rare Disorder
created: 2/15/2006 9:49:49 PM
Last updated: 2/16/2006 12:29:48 PM

She suffers from a rare disorder, untreatable in her native country. Now
a little girl from Cuba has traveled to St. Louis for surgery.

Gabriela is just two years old. And for most of her life, her family has
fought to bring her to the U.S. for treatment. Doctor's at St. John's
Mercy Medical Center hope with this surgery success, Gabriela will have
a chance at a normal life back in Cuba.

Her grandmother, who lives in Florida, fought to get her a medical visa
for this country. Griseria Gonzalez says through a translator, "A year
and a half. A year and a half waiting for this moment."

Gabriela has a rare condition known as Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. Dr.
Jeffrey Marsh says, "It's what's known as an overgrowth syndrome,
meaning that something is abnormal in the DNA, in the genes, and it
causes various parts of the body to overgrow."

It means that though Gabriela is just two, she looks like she's three.
And parts of her body are too big for her, like her tongue. Dr. Marsh
says, "They look significantly different from everybody else that they
are stigmatized by their facial difference."

On Wednesday, she had surgery at St. John's Mercy Medical Center to
reduce the size of her tongue, and a to fix a hernia. She also got
screened for cancer, another by-product of her condition.

With the help of a translator, her mother says, "I was nervous and like
anyone, I had fear." For Gabriela's family, this has been difficult,
trusting strangers in a foreign city. But they say the result will be
worth it. Her grandmother says, "Now they're not going to laugh at her."

Gabriela's surgeries were a success. Now she'll spend a few days
recovering. Then in a few months, she'll return home to Cuba. Gonzalez
says, "I give thanks to this country for giving me this opportunity."

Doctors will monitor Gabriela's health while she's in this country. But
when she returns home in six months, there won't be much opportunity for
follow up. Normally, children with this syndrome get screened for cancer
every three months.

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