Marlene (front) spent two and a half months in the Ahaus hospital. During her stay, the eleven-year-old was lovingly cared for by the Ahaus and Borken treatment team (from left to right): Prof. Dr. Matthias Knobe (Chief Physician Ahauser Clinic for Accident and Reconstructive Surgery), Prof. Dr. Patrick Jaminet (Head Physician at the Borken Clinic for Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hand Surgery), Dr. Pascal Kirchhoff (senior senior physician at the Borken Clinic for Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hand Surgery), Jürgen Probst (head of ward 4a), Daniela Reijmerink (nurse, ward 4a).” class=”wp-image-10758″ srcset=”https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-1024×768.jpg 1024w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-300×225.jpg 300w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-768×576.jpg 768w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-1536×1152.jpg 1536w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-560×420.jpg 560w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-80×60.jpg 80w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-150×113.jpg 150w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-696×522.jpg 696w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International-1068×801.jpg 1068w, https://wochenpost.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Marlene_Friedensdorf_International.jpg 1920w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/>Marlene (front) spent two and a half months in the Ahaus hospital. During her stay, the eleven-year-old was lovingly cared for by the Ahaus and Borken treatment team (from left to right): Prof. Dr. Matthias Knobe (Chief Physician Ahauser Clinic for Accident and Reconstructive Surgery), Prof. Dr. Patrick Jaminet (Head Physician at the Borken Clinic for Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hand Surgery), Dr. Pascal Kirchhoff (senior senior physician at the Borken Clinic for Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Hand Surgery), Jürgen Probst (head of ward 4a), Daniela Reijmerink (nurse, ward 4a).
Eleven-year-old Marlene had to be very patient when she came to Germany from her crisis-ridden homeland a few months ago with a particularly stubborn form of osteomyelitis. Adequate treatment for her illness would not have been possible in her home country. The young girl was initially accommodated at the Friedensdorf International in Oberhausen. A visit to Prof. Dr. Matthias Knobe, chief physician at the Clinic for Accident and Reconstructive Surgery at the Ahauser Hospital, led to the decision that only surgical treatment of the bone inflammation would help her in the long term. Around two months later, she can once again look positively into the future – also thanks to the support of her plastic surgery colleagues in Borken.
Surgical treatment necessary
The great willingness to help shown to children at Friedensdorf International, a non-profit charitable organization, has already become a tradition in the hospitals of the Westmünsterland Clinic. Many children from war and crisis areas have been treated free of charge by the clinic’s medical experts and thus received high-quality medical care that would have been denied to them in their home countries. Marlene from Angola is one of them. After comprehensive outpatient diagnostics, Prof. Dr. Knobe explains that the particularly severe form of osteomyelitis in Marlene’s right lower leg requires surgical treatment. Ossification of the ankle joints combined with severe disturbances in longitudinal growth led to this decision.
Ahauser Hospital as the temporary center of life
The Ahaus hospital became the young girl’s temporary center of life from the time she was admitted to hospital at the end of July. “The disease usually occurs due to a bacterial infection, which is difficult to treat with antibiotics alone and in this case had to be treated through several surgical procedures deep in the bone,” explains Prof. Dr. Knob. The affected area is drilled out and so-called antibiotic chains are inserted. The wound was connected to a tube system, which created a negative pressure that accelerated the healing process of the inflamed area. “With the so-called VAC therapy, the wound fluid is continuously sucked out. In this way, negative pressure is created in the wound area to increase blood flow to the wound and promote the healing process,” adds the trauma surgeon. After the operations, the nursing staff in ward 4a and the “Handfest” volunteer agency carefully looked after Marlene, who began the travel adventure to Germany without her parents. Even Prof. Dr.’s four-year-old daughter Knobe made gifts for Marlene to cheer her up.
Close cooperation within the clinic
In addition to the regular interventions by the Ahaus accident surgery expert team, she also benefited from the close cooperation between the specialist departments within the Westmünsterland Clinic. The plastic surgery clinic based in Borken’s St. Marien Hospital is known nationally for its wide range of medical treatments and is also responsible for the restoration of tissue, skin and bones after accidents and operations. For further treatment of eleven-year-old Marlene, chief physician Prof. Dr. Jaminet a surgical team led by the senior physician Dr. Pascal Kirchhoff was sent to Ahaus at the beginning of September. “With our colleagues from Ahaus, we were able to cover the exposed bone again through a tissue transfer from the thigh with a connection to the lower leg vessels and implant fresh muscle into the area affected by osteomyelitis,” explains Dr. Kirchhoff. “We are confident that Marlene will regain her quality of life thanks to the extensive care and that the wound will soon no longer cause her any problems,” adds the surgeon. The once high inflammation levels, which have now completely returned to normal, give reason for hope. After ten weeks of inpatient treatment, Marlene was now released from the Ahaus hospital in anticipation of returning home to her family soon.
