Gregory's Story

Gregory Jack is a boy from an island off mainland Papua New Guinea. He was brought here by his uncle and courtesy of Rotary for a facial advancement procedure to deal with his bulging unprotected eyes and probably severe sleep apnoea caused by a narrowed airway due to his retruded middle face.

The surgery was undertaken in early December 2010 where there was a division of the middle part of his face from the cranial base and then gradual distraction of his face forward using a frame and pins to the cranium for anchorage. Gregory required an additional procedure early in the year to free up one part of the complex on the left side and then all went smoothly. His forward movement has deliberately been brought a long way forward as it will not grow further but the lower jaw will. The frame and internal fixation points were removed in early February 2011.

Gregory has returned to PNG very happy and will once again be treated at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne in 12 months or so to bring the front part of his skull forward.