DR WHEELER & HIS TEAM ARE MAKING A SUPER-DIFFERENCE FOR OUR TAMARIKI!

Dr Jonathan Wheeler is the Clinical Lead of Paediatric Plastic Surgery at Starship. He is currently helping to establish a world-class paediatric plastic surgery service at Starship which will benefit children from all over the country. There are many children already at Starship who need plastic surgery and others who need the care of Starship services while they have plastic surgery.

An excellent paediatric plastic surgery service at Starship will mean better health outcomes for our tamariki, giving children the best chance to get back to living life and doing the things they love most.

AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT’S MAKING!

When Mya was 7 years old, she had life-changing plastic surgery with a team of five surgeons led by Dr Wheeler. From birth she has been living with a rare condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an entanglement of blood vessels in her left cheek. Her condition was becoming so bad that the growth was pushing on her teeth and forcing them to fall out.

Two years on from her transformational surgery, Mya’s back at school and getting on doing the things she loves, like jiu-jitsu and dirt biking!

Go Mya!

YOU TOO CAN HELP KIDS LIKE MYA

The Starship teams are excited to be developing a dedicated paediatric plastic service. They’ll be looking after children having treatment for vascular anomalies, craniofacial and cleft surgery and other complex reconstructive surgeries including trauma and cancer care.

Plastics, Dr Wheeler says, is essential. It is not only cosmetic. For Mya it’s been life-changing and critical to her being able to do the things she loves. Having a specialist paediatric plastic service will ensure that the children who require plastic surgery at Starship get excellent and timely care, meaning better health outcomes for our tamariki.

And it’s easy to help.

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