Pregnant with her first child in 2018, Lindsay George was looking forward to her 20-week ultrasound. But amid the excitement came unexpected news: Her unborn baby had a cleft lip and palate. Unfamiliar with the condition, Lindsay wasted no time learning everything she could. “I wanted to be prepared, so I did a lot of […]
Marty Joe overcomes clubfeet and clefts
Martin Joseph Kurowski – or Marty Joe – has been through a lot. With a team of specialists and determined parents, nothing slows down the toddler who was born with clubfeet, a cleft lip and cleft palate. A shocking diagnosis Marty was diagnosed in-utero with clubfeet and a cleft lip. “You want the best for […]
After facial fracture surgery, Amherst athlete makes a speedy return to baseball
Jonathan Williams, age 16, was one of two sophomores who made his high school varsity baseball team last year. When his coach called a last-minute Sunday afternoon practice, Jonathan, now a junior at Marion L. Steele High School, drove to the field. Jonathan, who plays second base, had a good practice until an infield grounder […]
Dr. Ananth Murthy, patient Elijah Bell talk advancements in ear reconstruction
Elijah Bell was born without outer ears, but thanks to Dr. Ananth Murthy, director of pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery and medical director for the Craniofacial Center and Speech Resonance Clinic at Akron Children’s, Elijah has ears crafted from his own rib cage cartilage. Now, 4 years later, Dr. Murthy and his team at The Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute […]
Tissue engineering: A sound solution for kids born with ear abnormalities
Hear this: Of the roughly 4 million babies born in the United States each year, an estimated 15% of them have an ear abnormality affecting the structure and appearance of part of or the entire ear, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Microtia, the most severe ear abnormality, occurs when the entire external ear […]
Max’s cleft palate journey continues with success
My son, Max, was born in the middle of a November blizzard in 2008 with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Rewind to our 20 week ultrasound, where we were excited to find out his gender but were surprised to instead learn that he had a cleft. The tech was certain about his lip but […]
