Practice News

SHREWSBURY, NJ – March 17, 2010 – The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that Dr. Andrew Elkwood, together with Dr. Saad A. Saad, were selected by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) to lead a medical mission to East Jerusalem to provide highly specialized surgical care to underprivileged Palestinian children. Dr. Elkwood, selected for his unique expertise in advanced reconstruction, and Dr. Saad, a highly skilled pediatric surgeon, will also provide training to local doctors and nurses.

The medical mission will begin on March 27^th and take place at Makassed Hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Over the last few years, the PCRF has brought several injured or ailing Palestinian children to the U.S. for Dr. Elkwood and Dr. Saad to treat. This marks the doctors’ first mission to the Middle East.

“I am honored to be making this trip, and am pleased to be able to provide highly specialized care to children in need,” said Dr. Elkwood, a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in unique operations involving nerve transplantation and complex reconstruction. Dr. Elkwood practices at the Plastic Surgery Center and serves as Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Monmouth Medical Center. Dr. Saad is a board certified pediatric surgeon at Monmouth Medical Center and Chairman of Pediatric Surgery at Jersey Shore Medical Center.

The Plastic Surgery Center in Shrewsbury, NJ is comprised of surgeons who perform a number of unique operations to help patients suffering from life-altering medical conditions often unaware a treatment is available. Some include: 

• Paralysis resulting from accidents and strokes
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Paralyzed diaphragm/ventilator-based breathing
• Facial reanimation
• Nerve decompression for migraine headaches

For information, please visit www.advancedreconstruction.com.

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1991 by concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East. The P.C.R.F. helps locate free medical care for children from the Middle East who are unable to get the necessary treatment in their homeland. For information, visit www.pcrf.net.

SHREWSBURY, NJ – February 25, 2010 – The Plastic Surgery Center today announced the successful results of a rare nerve transfer performed for the first known time on a stroke patient to reverse paralysis.  Following the procedure, which was led by Dr. Andrew Elkwood, M.D., 47-year old Vincent Filipini is now able to lift, move and bend his once paralyzed arm.  Mr. Filipini continues to show improvement in his mobility.

Dr. Elkwood commented, “We are extremely pleased with Vinny’s surgery outcome.  In addition to improving his quality of life, his results portend significant implications for individuals worldwide that suffer paralysis from a stroke.  Given his successful results, we believe there is a great deal more we can do going forward to restore further function of paralysis caused by strokes.”

During the procedure, which took place on December 18, 2007, at Monmouth Medical Center, Dr. Elkwood and a team of doctors took nerves from Mr. Filipini’s legs and attached them to his paralyzed arm to restore functionality.  The medical team created a nerve tunnel across Mr. Filipini’s chest to reach his bad arm, in order to run a so-called “extension cord” through his body and bypass the part of his brain not working as a result of his stroke.  Dr. Elkwood expected it would take months of recovery and therapy to determine the results, as the nerves grow approximately one inch per month.

About The Plastic Surgery Center

Dr. Andrew Elkwood is part of the medical team at the Plastic Surgery Center, located in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and comprised of a group of surgeons highly skilled in nerve transplantation and advanced reconstruction. They perform a number of unique operations to help patients suffering from life-altering medical conditions who are often unaware a treatment is available. Some of these conditions include: 

• Paralysis resulting from accidents and strokes
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Paralyzed diaphragm/ventilator-based breathing
• Facial reanimation
• Nerve decompression for migraine headaches

For further information, please visit www.advancedreconstruction.com.