Bladder exstrophy
Dan Nhi was born with is a congenital abnormality where the bladder is located outside the body. Dr. Khouly performed the operation to re-arrange her organs, and at the same time use the mesenteric vessels to create a bladder inside her boday for her to drain the unite by means of a catheter. He also created a “female organ” for her.
Thien An and his mother arrived in Toronto on March 20, 2007. He was born premature and put in an incubator, his retinas were burned beyond repairs due to medical staff’s carelessness. He was examined twice by doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children, but regrettably his retinas were so severely damaged that the chance of a successful surgery is remote while the risks too high. He returned to Vietnam with the hope that someday his eye’s condition will improve as the retina cells develop. However, he was financed by Herbie Fund to be trained at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Toronto for 6 months to help him adapt more smoothly to a new environment after arriving back home.
Tetralogy of Fallot
Arrived in Toronto at the beginning of 2008, Yen Nhi had the Fallot’s Syndrome (or Tetralogy of Fallot), a heart disease with serious complications. This is a problem with the heart’s structure present at birth. Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart. With Tetralogy of Fallot, not enough blood is able to reach the lungs to get oxygen, and oxygen-poor blood flows to the body. Her operation at the SickKids Hospital was successful and she was allowed to return to Vietnam on June 8, 2008.
Hirschsprung's disease
Binh An was born on July 16, 1997 in a very poor family in Hue, central Vietnam. He had a total of 13 surgeries in Vietnam to treat a disease called Hirschsprung’s which is a condition that affects the large intestine (colon) and causes problems with passing stool. Hirshspring’s disease is present when a baby is born (congenital) and results from missing nerve cells in the muscles of part or all of the baby’s colon. Hirshsprung’s disease is treated with surgery to bypass or remove the diseased part of the colon. The disease prevented him from living a normal life, isolating him from his classmates and children at his age.
Approved by the Herbie Fund at the recommendation of VSCAS, his and his mother came to Toronto on February 19, 2011. Admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children, he underwent 9 hours operation under the care of Dr. Walid Harhar (Urologist) and Dr. Jack Langer (general surgeon). Although the operation went well, Binh An experienced a few complications that required 3 more operations. In the last examination on May 27, he was deemed recovered well enough to return home. Binh An and his mother joined VSCAS members attended the Herbie Day fund-raising celebration and the appreciation gala dinner organized by VSCAS for them to express their gratitude to the Herbie Fund, Dr. Farhar, Dr. Langer and donators before they returned home to Vietnam.
Missing nose bridge
Hong Phuc came to Toronto with his mother in June, 2013. Before the orthopedic surgery to create his nose, at the recommendation of the orthodontist and with the approval of the Herbie Fund, Phuc was treated by the Dental Department at the Hospital for Sick Children (cleaning, filing, extraction and crowning many of his crooked teeth). Once the dental work was completed, he was operated by Dr. Forest and his Plastic Surgery team to remove a piece of his skull and one of his rib to create the nose bridge. The operation was highly successful and he was allowed to return to Viet Name after the last examination on December 12, 2013.
Retinopathy of Prematurity
Gia Thinh was born with Retinopathy of Prematurity which is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants which causes of visual loss in childhood and can lead to lifelong vision impairment and blindness. Gia Thinh had a treatment done but wasn’t successful and reported that he has advanced ROP in both eyes. Gia Thinh’s case was approved by the SickKids Foundation in 2015, Gia Thinh and his mother arrived in Toronto on October 14, 2015. Due to the advanced severity ROP, Gia Thinh was needed to undergo 2 correctional surgeries. The operations went as well as expected and Doctors were optimistic about the recovery of 1 eye. Gia Thinh recovered well, he was provided with corrective lenses and returned to Vietnam in March 2016
