The surgeries remained detained in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) for almost two years due to the pandemic. Now they have begun to be resumed for all patients who require the service. But while some are more common there are also others that are rarely performed as a novel microsurgical technique which has now been carried out.
Description of the medical case
Thanks to a multidisciplinary team of specialists, the IMSS in Chiapas reconstructed the face of José Luis “N”. To achieve this, a microsurgical technique. This is a procedure that was performed for the first time at the Hospital General de Zona (HGZ) No. 1 “Nueva Frontera”, in Tapachula.
The head of the surgery service at HGZ No. 1, Diego Alberto Choel Molina, reported that in 2019 the patient had a facial injury resulting from a car accident. He was further aggravated by a fungal infection in the paranasal sinuses that led to resection of part of the skull, face and right eye.
Highly complex intervention carried out at the IMSS
He said that thanks to the fact that the IMSS Chiapas has a hospital with state-of-the-art technology and specialist doctors, the patient underwent a vascular microsurgeryconsidered highly complex, which lasted more than 10 hours.
“It is a procedure that is usually performed in a Third Level of Care, but this tells us about the excellent capacity of our staff, as well as the infrastructure we have to perform many surgeries like this one. We hope to be pioneers in the state.”
The plastic surgeon of the “Nueva Frontera”, Carlos Echeverría, explained that a free flap was performed for the reconstruction of the face. It is a procedure that consists of performing a autotransplantation from a distant site of the patient’s body to another affected area, in which vessels, arteries and nerves are joined with a microscopic technique.
Thanks to a multidisciplinary team of specialists, the #IMSS on #Chiapas reconstructed the face of José Luis “N”, with a microsurgical technique, a procedure that was performed for the first time at HGZ No. 1 “Nueva Frontera”, in Tapachula.
🔗 https://t.co/hwb7ZwLw7A pic.twitter.com/puWyoPFUlp
— IMSS (@Your_IMSS) March 5, 2022
This procedure leaves a great satisfaction in the multidisciplinary team who participated in the care of José Luis. Now the patient will recover his health and quality of life, and will return to his work and family life.
“I am a graduate of the Magdalena de las Salinas Hospital. I have little time in ‘Nueva Frontera’, I am from Tapachultec and my dream was to return to my land and support my people. The goal is that they don’t have to travel to other cities, that they don’t struggle and that these procedures are carried out here, which are usually Third Level. But they can be done in HGZ No. 1, if we work as a team to have more success stories like this one”.
Patient satisfied with the work received
Moved to tears and accompanied by his wife, José Luis thanked the IMSS Chiapas staff for their attention and professionalism, since now he will be able to recover his health and reintegrate into society.
In this way, the IMSS maintains its commitment to offer a cutting-edge service to those who require it, and this new microsurgical technique is a clear example. It is also a sign that in areas of the country that are often relegated there are also hospitals with qualified personnel to carry out this type of procedure.