Former patient Maia Haves, 4, cut the ribbon before a tour of Starhip's new operating theatres and surgical facilities. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Former patient Maia Haves, 4, cut the ribbon before a tour of Starhip's new operating theatres and surgical facilities. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Former neurosurgery patient Maia Haves, aged 4, helped to officially open the upgraded and expanded operating theatres suite at the Starship children's hospital today.
Maia, of Albany, crashed face first into a concrete bollard during the Easter holiday when riding downhill on a pedal-less bike at Hobsonville Point.
"Her face took the impact and she fractured her skull above her right eye," says Maia's mother, Justine.
At first it was thought to be a simple fracture, but she suffered bad headaches and was very tired. Two weeks after the crash a leakage of cerebral fluid, from the membrane around the brain, was detected coming from her nose.
"It was easy to think she had a cold, but then we realised there was something more to it."
Maia had neuro-surgery at Auckland City Hospital, then two operations through her nose at the Starship's upgraded theatres to repair the leak. She spent about a month in hospital.
Starship charge nurses Debbie Morgan, left, and Linda Chapman with a wall mural featuring a thank you to the NZ Herald. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Mrs Haves says layers of synthetic material and Maia's own tissue were placed using a bio-gel "like cement to hold everything in place" - which would remain in her skull permanently - to allow the fracture to heal.
"The staff have been amazing. I can totally see the benefit of a facility like this, just to make patients comfortable. With children it makes such a big difference."
The pre-operative play area has been particularly important for Maia, keeping her distracted from the distress of injury and health care, Mrs Haves says.
"Maia has been really good about being in hospital. That's a testimony to the staff. She's been treated so well by all the staff here. They made a complete fuss of her around her birthday. She quite looks forward to coming to the hospital."
Maia, when asked if she likes coming to Starship, says, after playing a game of hop-scotch with some nurses: "Yeah, especially the play room."
The theatres project has cost the Auckland District Health Board about $9 million, of which $3.1 million was given by the Starship Foundation charity.
Herald readers raised $242,731 for the foundation through the Help Our Kids campaign, to buy high-tech equipment for the theatres.
The project has:
• Upgraded four of the six existing theatres, • Added a seventh theatre, • Installed new LED lighting sets which also have a camera that can project video of the surgery to screens beside the surgeon and on the theatre wall, • Improved air-conditioning and storage areas, • Upgraded the preoperative area, including private spaces and a play area for children, and • Expanded the post-anaesthetic care unit.
Dr Niall Wilton, Starship's clinical director of anaesthesia and operating rooms, said the new theatre would be used mainly for spinal surgery and other orthopaedic operations.
He said the extra theatre space would increase the patient capacity of the operating rooms by 15 per cent, once additional staff were hired.
Starship Foundation chief executive Brad Clark said: "We are incredibly grateful to the generous donors from across the country that have enabled this important facility upgrade. The scope and nature of the changes will benefit the many thousands of patients and their families who will need treatment in Starship operating theatres each year."
