A Mongolian Miracle Occurring in the South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "Thank you, South Korea! My dream is to become a plastic surgeon." Nergui, a six-year old boy from Mongolia was able to introduce himself in Korean after spending 6 months in a South Korean hospital.

Having lived his life without a nose and an airway, the Mongolian child can now enjoy a normal life after receiving plastic surgery in South Korea.

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) announced Nergui Baramsai, aged 6, returned home on January 25^th after 8 months of treatment in South Korea.

The surgery for Nergui was significant in that it provided a successful cooperation model between private, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as becoming the first successful transplant of tissue produced from 3D printing in South Korea.

Nergui was introduced to KHIDI in March, 2013 through the World Vision office in Mongolia with the description, "a nose-less child, cannot be treated in Mongolia". Like the description, being born without a nose is extremely rare and since 2000, there have only been 30 such reported cases with most of the children having died before the age of one.

Accordingly, KHIDI requested the treatment to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (CMC) and Nergui arrived in South Korea with an uncertainty of a successful treatment. Understanding the child's hardship, CMC decided to provide for all the medical expenses arising from the treatment, surgery and hospitalization. Furthermore, CMC organized a team comprising of doctors from otolaryngology, pediatrics, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, dentistry and others in order to formulate a concrete treatment plan.

Nergui underwent an operation to insert a tissue expander that would work to expand the skin on his forehead. This was necessary as extracting the needed tissue to make Nergui a nose was difficult. After the insertion, his skin was gradually expanded through the injection of saline solution.

After Nergui's skin was sufficiently expanded, the CMC team underwent a secondary operation to make his nostrils, nasal bone and the remaining nose as well as connecting the nostrils to the mouth to allow respiration. With cryptorchism being detected in Nergui's body during his body inspection, an additional urological surgery was necessary extending the whole operation to last for 20 hours.

A month after, the final surgery took place to rid the exterior scars and insert a patient-adjusted specialized stent to maintain Nergui's newly formed passageway for the nasal cavity. This specialized stent was designed by Professor Jo, Dong Woo using the CT images provided by CMC and is also the first clinically applied structure made out of 3D printing technology.

After Nergui's final surgery, three months were spent to observe the post-treatment progress while minor treatments were given to prevent inner-nose contraction. Nergui also undertook practicing for nasal breathing.

When Nergui was finally discharged from the hospital on November 19^th, the director of CMC along with doctors from the CMC team, personnel from KHIDI, World Vision and the Embassy of Mongolia in South Korea came together to congratulate Nergui.

In front of them Nergui spoke from his heart, "My dream now is to become a plastic surgeon and to help treat patients like myself."

The Medical Korea Charity had begun to give hope to suffering children from around the world through the South Korean medical technology.

A spokesman from KHIDI stated, "Through the case of Nergui, we have found the suitable model for cooperation between private, governmental and non-governmental organizations," and added, "We have worked since 2011 to promote the excellence of the South Korean medical technology and Medical Korea".

Since the start of Medical Korea, there have been 170 patients from 22 countries that have received pro-bono treatment.

Inquiries: KHIDI, Global Healthcare Business Department
Ji-Young Yang, +82-43-713-8248

SOURCE KHIDI