20
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 4 Number 10 | July 2014
HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
Australian surgeons help Filipino boy
THANKS to the generosity of Australian surgeons, hope shines on a poor Filipino
boy who has been suffering with a huge growth on his face that made him struggle
even to eat and drink.
AUSTRALIAN surgeons successfully carried out a complex
and rare procedure to remove
the huge growth from the face of
seven-year-old Jhonny Lameon
who was brought to Australia to
undergo the operation.
The boy suffered from a severe fronto-nasal encephalocele
-- a neural tube defect that resulted in membranous sacs expanding through his eyes and
covering his face.
He was noticed by a volunteer at NGO Interplast during a visit to the Philippines,
who sent photos of the child to
Monash Children’s Hospital
plastic surgeon James Leong in
Melbourne.
“As soon as I saw his case I
immediately sent emails to get
approval so we could help this
young boy,” Leong told AFP.
Interplast teamed with the
Children First Foundation to
bring Jhonny to Australia, as
the type of surgery he needed
was not available in the Philippines and was out of reach for
his impoverished family.
Leong said the condition
was rare, with about one in
10,000 babies born with the defect. In more developed nations,
the condition is usually picked
up and corrected early.
A team of four surgeons,
who all volunteered, performed
an eight-hour operation to remove the mass and reconstruct
Jhonny’s entire face in March,
with the hospital revealing news
of the case only recently.
“Jhonny’s case was quite
severe. The surgery was quite
complex,” said Leong.
“We were able to excise the
tumour, and reconstruct the
face by breaking the bone between the eye sockets. We also
took a rib graft to reconstruct a
nose for Jhonny.”
The boy has been recovering
at a rehabilitation centre north
of Melbourne and Leong said
he was a bundle of energy and
now able to live like other children his age.
“Jhonny referred to the tumour as ‘the ball’ and it made
life very difficult for him. He
was ostracised and teased and
had to hold the tumour away
from his face in order to eat or
drink,” Leong said.
“He still wanted to run and
play like any other little boys but
‘the ball’ made this almost impossible.
“We feel privileged that we
have an opportunity to change
this little boy’s life, and we hope
Jhonny’s quality of life will improve considerably.” [AFP report]
This undated handout photo released on July 3, 2014 by Monash
Childrens Hospital in Melbourne shows seven-year-old Jhonny Lameon
from the Philippines after having surgery to remove a huge tumor from
his face. AFP PHOTO/ MONASH CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Peligrong pangkalusugan sa pelvic floor ng mga batang ina
B
inabale-wala ng
kababaihang buntis at mga batang
ina ang kalusugan
ng kanilang pelvic
floor, kahit na nakita sa bagong
pananaliksik na halos tatlo sa
bawat apat ay dumaranas ng tagas sa pag-ihi.
Nakita sa isang pag-aaral sa
1000 Australyanang ina at magiging ina na kahit nasa mataas
na kategorya ng peligrong magkaroon ng incontinence o kawalan ng pagpipigil sa pag-ihi o pagdumi, 98 porsyento ay nabigong
sundin ang rekomendadong antas ng pang-araw-araw na mga
ehersisyo sa pelvic floor.
Ang Continence Foundation of Australia, na siyang nagpakomisyon ng pananaliksik,
ay nagbunsod ng isang pambansang kampanya para itaas
ang kamalayan sa kahalagahan
ng pagpipigil at mas mahusay ng
pangangasiwa ng incontinence
sa mga nanay, na siyang namimiligro sa pagkakaroon ng incontinence sanhi ng mga epekto
ng pagbubuntis at pagluwal ng
sanggol sa kanilang pelvic floor.
Ang kampanyang Pangangasiwa sa dinadala ng ina ay naglalayon ding higit na turuan ang
mga propesyonal sa pangkalusugan sa panganganak, lalo pa’t nakita sa pananaliksik na 42 porsy-
ento ng kababaihan ay may pakiramdam na hindi sapat ang impormasyong ibinigay sa kanila
ng kanilang mga doktor o nars
kaugnay ng mga ehersisyo sa kalamnan ng pelvic floor habang
sila ay nagbubuntis.
Si Rowan Cockerell, opisyal na tagapagpatupad ng Continence Foundation, ay nagpahayag na ang mga klinikal
na pag-aaral ay nagpapakitang
ang mga ehersisyo sa kalamnan
ay makapipigil at epektibong
makalulunas sa incontinence sa
mga bago manganak at pagkatapos makapanganak na kababaihan, at dapat maging bahagi ng
kanilang pang-araw-araw na ga-
wain.
Sinabi pa niyang ang incontinence ay hindi dapat ituring
na normal na bahagi ng pagluwal ng sanggol at kailangang gawing prayoridad ng kababaihan
ang kanilang kalusugan sa pelvic floor.
“Para sa mga inang pinagsasalit-salitan ang trabaho, mga
bata, mga lakad at buhay panlipunan, ang pag-eehersisyo tatlong beses isang araw ay tila
napakarami, ngunit sandali lamang ito, maaaring gawin kahit
saan, at napakasimpleng paraan
upang malunasan o mas mahusay na pangasiwaan ang incontinence,” aniya.
“Nais namin na ang mga kababaihan ay masiglang makapaglaro sa kanilang mga anak,
makapag-ehersisyo o tumawa
nang walang pag-aalalang mapaihi sa kanilang salawal. At kung
nakararanas sila ng kahit anong
antas ng incontinence, dapat silang humingi ng propesyonal na
tulong dahil nalulunasan ito.”
Ang Foundation ay bumuo
ng isang app sa pagbubuntis at
isang gabay sa pagbubuntis, na
siyang ipinamamahagi sa mga
magi ging ina sa buong Australya
hanggang sa pagsapit ng World
Continence Week, June 23-29.
Mula alas-8:00 n.u. hanggang
8:00 n.g. Lunes hanggang Bi-
yernes, ang National Continence
Helpline (1800 33 00 66) ay may
mga kawani na mga tagapayong
nars na may kaalaman sa incontinence na makapagbibigay ng
payo, mga pagsangguni at mga
rekurso sa mga konsyumer at
mga propesyonal sa kalusugan.
Ang Helpline ay maa-akses din
sa pamamagitan ng Telephone
Interpreter Service sa 131 450.
Ang tumatawag ay magsasaad ng
gamay nilang wika at i-uugnay
sa isang interpreter na maaaring
kumontak sa Helpline at magsalin ng impormasyon. Makukuha rin ang karagdagang impormasyon sa 27 wika sa continence.
org.au/other-languages
Dental treatment alternative for snoring and sleep apnoea
OPTIONS
FOR SLEEP
APNOEA?
WHAT IS SLEEP
APNOEA?
Considered to be one
of the most undiagnosed
health issues, Sleep Apnoea is a condition where
a person’s upper airway is
partially blocked causing
breathing to be restricted
or sometimes completely
stopping. This condition is
due to the tongue and soft
palate folding onto the back
of the throat while sleeping.
It is believed that sleep apnoea affects many people and most sufferers are
unaware of this unhealthy
condition.
There are many signs
and symptoms that a sleep
apnoea sufferer may experience. These include the
following:
l Loud Snoring
l Daytime sleepiness
and tiredness
l Depression
l Morning headaches
l Going to the toilet
frequently throughout the night
l Gagging or gasping for air at times
whilst sleeping
There are three types of
Sleep Apnoea. The most
common type of sleep related disorder is Obstructive
Sleep Apnoea or OSA; the
other two are Central Sleep
Apnoea and Mixed Apnoea. Sleep Apnoea is also
classified into mild, moderate and severe forms. In severe cases, some people can
lose breath for as much as
40 seconds over 60 times an
hour. The fact is, no matter
what type or form classification a sleep apnoea sufferer falls into, this condition increases the risk
of cardiovascular disease,
stroke and heart attack.
Determining whether an individual has sleep
apnoea condition is not
an easy task. A quick single visit to a medical GP or
dentist is not enough. The
gold standard of diagnosing sleep apnoea condition is the in-lab hospital
sleep study. This involves
the monitoring of sleep
by a trained professional.
Home sleep study options
can also be available for patients who struggle to sleep
in strange surroundings.
WHAT ARE THE
TREATMENT
Your Mouth, Your Body, Your Health
h
DR. ROUEL
VERGARA
Treatment options can be determined once a pa- [email protected]
tient has been diagnosed. Depending
on the severity of the sleep structive sleep apnoea sufdisorder, a number of treat- ferers. The device uses air
ment options are available pressure to maintain a patent airway. CPAP device
such as:
Mandibular Advance- requires patients to wear a
ment Device or Splint mask and the continuous
(MAD or MAS) – This is air pressure throughout the
ideal for patients who suf- night. Many patients canfer from mild – moderate not tolerate CPAP.
Surgical Options – For
sleep apnoea. A dentist provides this dental device. It extreme cases of sleep apis worn while sleeping and noea, surgical treatment
works to open the airway. may become necessary.
Recent studies have shown Costs and success rates asthat this device greatly re- sociated with surgery can
duces snoring and apnoe- differ considerably, and
success is not guaranteed.
ic events.
If you suffer from this
Continuous Positive
Airflow Pressure (CPAP)– sleep related disorder or
This is ideal for severe ob- have questions and con-
cerns about snoring and
sleep apnoea, seek professional medical and dental
advice as soon as possible.
Dr. Rouel Vergara,
DMD is a general
dentist practitioner
focusing on patientcentred dentistry. He is a
member of various dental
organizations in Australia
and overseas, and is
also actively involved in
providing lectures and
workshops for dental
health professionals in
the Asia Pacific region.
Dr. Vergara practices in
Parramatta and Empire
Bay, NSW.