SIX-year-old Kimberly Hippolito of Saipan was born with two extra thumbs in both of her hands.
But that changed after a successful four-hour surgery at Guam’s Surgicenter on Wednesday.
What makes Hippolito’s case remarkable is the generosity of individuals, businesses and the federal government in making sure that she receives proper medical attention—without costing the family a penny.
Dr. Jerone Landstrom, the region’s only board-certified hand surgeon, said this was more of a “hand and finger reconstruction” than a simple amputation.
The X-ray pictures sent by Surgicenter to Variety shortly before the operation showed that the extra thumb in the left hand was fully formed, but was crowding out the proper thumb.
Bill McMillan, managing member of Surgicenter, said the surgery started at 7:45 a.m. and ended at 12 noon.
“Most of the time was spent on her left hand, as Dr. Landstrom moved muscle, bone, veins and nerves to allow her permanent thumb to be aligned properly and to have full function,” McMillan told Variety.
McMillan said Surgicenter, which opened on Guam in Oct. 2001, performs several hand surgeries, but this is the first time they saw this type of case in the Marianas, although Dr. Landstrom had seen a similar one in Texas.
“Kimberly handled the surgery well, and was able to walk out of the surgery center with her mother at 12:30 noon, both hands bandaged, of course,” McMillan said.
Two pins were put in to hold the bone re-alignment until her hand heals.
The child’s bandages will come off in about a week, and Landstrom will remove the pins in four to six weeks.
She will have her right hand in full use in about two to three weeks, while the left will be in full use in four to six weeks.
“Kimberly will have full function in both hands after she has healed, and scarring will be minimal,” said McMillan.
The child is a U.S. citizen, but her parents are not. However, the U.S. Immigration and Natural Services, particularly Rocky Minor, waived the visa requirement for the mother to come with her daughter to Guam for the operation.
The Hippolitos also don’t have health insurance, and so both Landstrom and Guam Surgicenter agreed to treat her without charge as they “believe Kimberly deserves a life without this birth defect.”
Dan Johnson, a Continental Airlines pilot, got Continental’s Ayuda Foundation involvement to bring the mother and child to Guam. Continental’s Liz Murphy and Lou Sanchez also made sure that the Hippolitos were provided accommodations on Guam.
Dr. Ben Sawyer of the CNMI Commonwealth Health Center and Joe Santos of the Medical Referral Office toured Surgicenter last week and agreed to allow CNMI beneficiaries to use the center, rather than having to travel to Hawaii or the mainland U.S. for surgery that can be done locally.
Surgicenter is a private ambulatory surgery facility owned by nine Guam surgeons. It is located at the Guam Medical Plaza, along with Guam Cancer Institute, Guam Renal Dialysis Center and Guam Diagnostic Imaging.
