Kyle Cooper waits 18 years for oral surgery

Monday through Saturday, Kyle Cooper wakes up at 5:40 in the morning to get to his construction job by 7:00. On his only day off, he shoots trap at the local sportsman’s club with his grandfather. Things that would bother a typical teen—a long commute, arduous work, little time off for friends—barely faze Kyle. This 18-year-old has the quiet confidence and patience of someone twice his age. Kyle’s demeanor may be due in part to having had to wait a lifetime for something he wanted so badly. He was born with hemifacial microsomia (HFM), a craniofacial anomaly that resulted in the left side of this face being underdeveloped. The cause of HFM is not well understood. Until this past February, what HFM meant for Kyle was that his face was noticeably uneven and barely any of his teeth touched. “I made it through and got used to it, but I couldn’t eat things like meat because it would take me three hours to chew.” Kyle grew up knowing that he would have to wait years to correct his HFM. Boston Children’s Hospital Oral Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Bonnie Padwa explains, “As surgeons we can try and improve the asymmetry during childhood, but it generally recurs and the non-affected side grows normally while the affected side does not. But once growth is complete around age 18, we can operate to correct the skeletal asymmetry of the jaws as well as improving the soft tissue contour with fat injections.” Years passed of Kyle being the subject of roundtable meetings at Boston...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Our patients’ stories Bonnie Padwa Craniofacial Anomalies Program plastic and oral surgery department Source Type: news