Rosa Pérez is the grandmother of Noé, a little boy born on 3 February at the Huércal-Overa Hospital with a cleft lip and palate, diagnosed at 20 weeks of pregnancy. The baby was transferred the day after birth to the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Granada, a benchmark in the care of children with craniofacial malformations, to be fitted with a tube to enable him to feed himself.
When the newborn arrived at the Granada centre, orthodontist Antonio España began the first phase of treatment, which consisted of bringing the lips closer together and shaping the nose with a splint, in preparation for the closure of the fissure carried out by paediatric and maxillofacial surgeons.
For 12 days, Noé was admitted to the neonatal unit, and his mother, Nuria Romero, who is hearing and speech impaired, stayed with him during this time in the mothers’ hotel during the day, as he spent the nights with his mother-in-law, with whom he lives in the municipality of Albox.
This accompaniment was possible thanks to the coordinated work of nursing and social work and the solidarity of the association Vive de Granada, who, when the social worker of the health centre contacted them, did not hesitate to give them a flat located in a neighbourhood very close to the hospital, Los Pajaritos, so that grandmother and mother could be close to Noé.
As soon as the Neonatology supervisor, Mercedes Alonso, learned of the case of this young mother, who came from another province and had language problems, and therefore needed continuous accompaniment, she implemented a humanisation protocol to ensure that the grandmother could be with her at all times. After a meeting with the nurse case manager Concha Vellido and the social worker María Funes, they decided to look for accommodation so that they could spend the night together and also share the care of the baby.
The work of the nurse case manager has been essential for this care to be maintained after the patient was discharged from hospital on 17 February. Concha has been in charge of coordinating all the actions with Primary Care in Albox so that the professionals at the health centre can follow the care of the prosthesis with a video recorded by the nurses from Granada. Also of the transfer to his home and the next journeys for further treatments and check-ups.
Noé is already at home, with his family, he will soon return to the great team of Paediatrics of Granada to undergo surgery, carried out by paediatric and maxillofacial surgeons, to repair the birth defect, as well as to achieve normal senses and harmony of the face so that he can have a correct psychosocial development. His grandparents, parents and uncles wish him well, one of whom is only four years old and with whom he will soon be able to play.
Reference Unit for Craniofacial Malformations and Labiopalatine Clefting
The Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves has had a multidisciplinary referral unit for 20 years in which all craniofacial pathologies affecting children are treated. It is made up of paediatric surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons and orthodontists dedicated to surgically intervene congenital malformations affecting the skull or face of children.
The highly specialised unit repairs birth defects with advanced techniques, as well as achieving normal swallowing, phonation, hearing and harmony of the skull and face to optimise the child’s psychosocial development in his or her environment.
The team is expert in cutting-edge surgical procedures, such as bone distraction, and has incorporated digital technology and 3D printing to resolve complex malformational pathology.