OTOLARYNGOLOGY (ENT) SURGERY
18-YEAR-OLD LUKE HAD WHAT STARTED out as a very common ailment: a sinus headache. However this quickly turned into a life-threatening illness when an abscess formed around his eye, swelling it shut and impacting his vision. At midnight, his father drove him to the hospital. Dr. Cheung, ENT Surgeon with Island Health, took one look at Luke and knew he had to act fast as there was a real possibility Luke would go blind or that the abscess would spread to his brain and cause a fatal blood clot. Dr. Cheung gathered a team of Island Health specialists and rushed Luke into an after-hours surgery. The infection was in a complicated location. Using an ENT navigation system, Dr. Cheung and his team were able to quickly do a CT scan, fuse it with the guidance system and allow the navigation to guide them through the sinus passages so they could reach the infection and drain it. “This equipment made an incredible difference to Luke. It helped him have a 100% recovery,” Dr. Cheung said about the importance of having the ENT navigation system. “You know, I want to help people. They come in suffering, and as a doctor, I want to take away that suffering. The community can be part of that by helping us raise funds for all this surgical equipment.” Luke is now a 21-year-old biochemistry student, thinking about his future as a researcher or med student. He plays squash, does a lot of schoolwork and has just taken up the piano. “Sometimes it does occur to me,” Luke said of his experience, “that I’m here. And, I might not have been. I can see, right now, and I might not have been able to. It’s an uplifting feeling.” This campaign is funding one ENT navigation system so that patients like Luke can have the best chance at life. Otolaryngology Surgery Equipment: $104,900 victoriahf.ca/otolaryngology