Last November, a 15-year-old boy named Weder came to see our team hoping for medical care for a large ear mass that had grown larger over the past few years and become extremely uncomfortable. We were unable to complete surgery on Weder in November, but he patiently waited on Thursday during LEAP’s evaluation. After evaluation by our plastic surgery team, we were happy to let Weder know that we would be able to help repair his ear.
During our pre-operative preparations, we learned that Weder was originally injured during the devastating earthquake in 2010 when a piece of building fell and hit him, cutting open his ear. As the injury slowly healed, it began to form a large keloid, essentially overgrown scar tissue that can sometimes occur following an injury. Often treatment is with injectable medication that can shrink the growth, but in this case, the surgeons felt the best plan was to combine surgical removal with the injection.
We are thankful to Dr. Jeffrey Cone and Dr. Steve Orten who worked together to remove the mass of tissue with an incredible result. This young man, who felt embarrassed and was often ridiculed, was so grateful to the LEAP team. He and his father truly appreciated the kindness extended to him by so many.