August 2010.
Dr. Pyo recently returned from a trip to Seoul, Korea. He was invited to give a lecture about his experience with sternal reconstruction. His vast experience in this area has made him an expert in the management of sternal complications after cardiac surgery as well as trauma. He has traveled all over the world giving lectures, and teaching workshops on the techniques that he uses for this serious complication. It was an honor and a privilege being able to present in his homeland, and it was very well received, as these techniques are not performed in any Asian country.
During this trip, Dr. Pyo was also able to visit several Korean Plastic Surgeons, who are recognized around the world for their expertise in cosmetic surgery. He was able to share his experience, and discuss new techniques that the Korean surgeons had developed. Because of Dr. Pyo's significant experience in cosmetic surgery of the Asian face, it was quite a wonderful time of sharing and interchange of new ideas. Dr. Pyo is excited to be able to bring back some new ideas, as well as modification of current ideas to his practice in Morristown, NJ.
June 2011.
Dr. Pyo recently returned from another Operation Smile mission in October. This mission was to Kisumu, Kenya - the western most city in Kenya, sitting right on Lake Victoria. He joined an international team composed of 6 surgeons. They performed over 150 operations on children with Cleft lip and palates in 4 1/2 days. It was his second mission to Kenya, and his 13th overall mission. If you would like to read more, please see below. If you would like more information about Operation Smile, or would like to donate, please click on the Logo.
Thank you.
The children are never the same. The love of parents for their children is. I will never get over the feeling that I get when I arrive to a mission site. No matter how long and difficult the travel has been, I am energized by the children that have also travelled long and arduous paths to arrive at the mission site. This trip is special because I was able to travel on the first leg of the journey with my wife Helen, and my older son Christopher. They will be staying in Nairobi, working with a children's choir called Jirani. My son Christopher will be spending time with the choir members and video-documenting his trip as a school project. My bags are heavier this time due to a beanie baby drive that Christopher initiated at his school, Frelinghuysen middle school in Morristown, New Jersey.
We screened over 300 children, and selected about 150 for surgery. It is always a difficult process choosing who gets surgery and who doesn't. There is a priority system, though, which does make it a bit easier. Younger children with cleft lips are priorty 1, etc. A memorable family on this trip was a grandmother and her grandson who both presented with cleft lips. Even though the grandmother would normally be placed at the lower end of the list, because she had brought her grandson, and because of the desperate plea from the grandmother, we chose to do their surgery together. The team worked tirelessly, and we finished the week with over 150 new smiles, and absolutely no complications.
