cause treatment of strawberry birthmarks
cause treatment of strawberry birthmarks
Outlining how his research into strawberry birthmarks could lead to a new way of treating cancer, he asks: "Would that be a good thing?" Suggest he could be making big money in cosmetic surgery overseas, and he asks, 'Would I be a happy man?" Hutt Hospital's director of surgery should be happy enough – because what began as his research into disfiguring strawberry birthmarks has just won his four-strong research team a major international science prize. That Tan and his team have done their breakthrough research without such facilities and with little funding is testimony to their dedication – and their willingness to spend huge amounts of time working for free. In 30% of cases the birthmark shrinks dramatically, and in 40% it stops growing – but in 30% it just keeps growing. Treating a birthmark with chemotherapy – you have to be pretty desperate." That moment in April when Tan's team won the John Mulliken Prize for the best science paper at the conference of the International Society for the study of vascular anomalies amazed their international colleagues. They sent Tan to a Chinese school – "which means you can't go anywhere, not even to the local university. You can feel sorry for yourself and do nothing or get up and do something useful – and look beyond what you've got." Australia was offering free tuition to a limited number of students from developing countries, and having gained a place Tan started at the University of Melbourne's Medical School in 1980. In their fifth year students could do an elective anywhere in the world, "so I came to New Zealand – and fell in love with this country. People here are so friendly, just so accepting, interested in you, not pretentious – and they are colour-blind." In 1987, having worked for a year in Melbourne Hospital, where he met Sanchia, then training as a nurse, he had to leave Australia under the terms of his scholarship. I was fascinated by the life-transforming nature of plastic surgery – and the creativity. There's no doubt people who want to do plastic surgery are naturally quite creative people, but no doubt that plastic surgery gives people the opportunity to be creative. So, give it a go – and again people gave me a hand," says Tan. He won a fellowship to Oxford to do further training in craniofacial surgery – "you cut out eye sockets and move them, basically" – and to Harvard Medical School to do research. It was his boss there – John Mulliken, the man for whom the prize is named – who got him interested in strawberry birthmarks, or haemangioma. It's a matter of recognising them, because opportunities will keep coming and going – and they can just bypass you." Read more at: cause treatment of strawberry birthmarks cause treatment of strawberry birthmarks
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