Surgeons

Children (2x3)

Data di messa in onda: Giu 05, 2008

In the final episode of 'Surgeons', we explore the revolutionary and radical surgeries being performed on children today in Ireland. Two year old Darragh Hayes from Killdare was born deaf, his parents Debbie and Flann have been attending Beaumont Hospital with their son in the hope that Darragh is suitable for new technology that might allow him to hear. Surgeon Laura Viani runs the National Cochlear Implant programme, the only facility of its kind in Ireland. For the past 15 years she has pioneered this new technology - Cochlear Implantation - also known as a 'bionic ear', which can in certain cases allow deaf children to acquire hearing. If Darragh never acquires hearing, he will never learn to speak and his hearing family must learn sign language to communicate with him. If suitable for a cochlear implant Darragh could in time be able to hear for the first time in his life and learn to talk. In Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin surgeon David Moore is one of only two surgeons in the country performing radical 'Limb Lengthening' surgery. This surgery - in which a bone is broken, attached to a metal frame and then over a long period of time the frame is stretched- actually makes a bone longer. Chulainn Lewis-Lavery an eleven year old boy from Moyvane in Co.Kerry, has a limp. Due to an infection in his leg when he was younger his right leg is shorter than the other, but also a deformity in his ankle is causing his leg to grow at an angle. If left alone, Chulainn would end up walking on his ankle. David Moore decides to put Chulainn under the knife- stopping the ankle growth and then over lengthening Chulainn's right leg. But to alleviate his problems Chulainn must have his leg in a metal frame for over six months.