When Stephen Bodnar was born at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital in November 2021, his mother, Megan Friend, assumed she would be bringing her newborn son home for Thanksgiving. But Stephen’s birth was unlike those Megan had with her older children. “I delivered my older two without any problems,” Megan said. “When Stephen was born, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Surgery closes the gap on cleft lips and palates – (VIDEO)
Beyond the impact on a child’s physical appearance, correcting a cleft lip and palate can aid in the ability to speak, chew and swallow. In this Children’s Channel video, Ananth Murthy, MD, director of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Akron Children’s, discusses the treatment of this birth defect.
Hemangiomas will fade with time and treatment – (VIDEO)
Although hemangiomas will go away on their own, there are options to speed this process. In this Children’s Channel video, Ananth Murthy, MD, the director of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Akron Children’s, discusses the occurrence and treatment of these vascular birthmarks.
