A doctor in Boston says he and a team of specialists can treat a 10-year-old Vietnamese orphan who travelled to Canada seeking medical help for a large growth on his face, but was turned away by a Toronto hospital.
Dr. John Mulliken, a plastic surgeon with a specialty in vascular anomalies, said he has reviewed Hoang Son Pham's medical files and is confident he can shrink the football-size growth.
"He would still have some distortion, but it will be shrunken down to 10 per cent of what it is now … and he will look much, much, much better," Mulliken said in an interview from his office at Children's Hospital Boston.
"We can do it, but think of all the logistics. It's going to be costly."
It's not clear how much the procedures would cost, but Mulliken said officials were looking at endowments and other pools of money that could be used to cover some of the expenses.
Doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto agreed to review his case after the charity raised about $200,000 for his travel, care and medical needs.
Specialists there spent four months conducting medical tests and assessing their findings, only to announce earlier this month that it would be better for the boy not to receive any treatment.
They said there were risks to the procedure and that the growth — a birthmark that has grown since Son was born — was not life-threatening.
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What do you make of the decision to treat the boy in the U.S. and not in Canada?
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Dr. John Mulliken, a plastic surgeon with a specialty in vascular anomalies, said he has reviewed Hoang Son Pham's medical files and is confident he can shrink the football-size growth.
"He would still have some distortion, but it will be shrunken down to 10 per cent of what it is now … and he will look much, much, much better," Mulliken said in an interview from his office at Children's Hospital Boston.
"We can do it, but think of all the logistics. It's going to be costly."
It's not clear how much the procedures would cost, but Mulliken said officials were looking at endowments and other pools of money that could be used to cover some of the expenses.
Doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto agreed to review his case after the charity raised about $200,000 for his travel, care and medical needs.
Specialists there spent four months conducting medical tests and assessing their findings, only to announce earlier this month that it would be better for the boy not to receive any treatment.
They said there were risks to the procedure and that the growth — a birthmark that has grown since Son was born — was not life-threatening.
Full story
What do you make of the decision to treat the boy in the U.S. and not in Canada?
More...
