A 3-year-old Iraqi boy will undergo surgery at UC San Francisco Medical Center on Friday, Jan. 16, to restore his hearing, which was destroyed in June 2007 when a U.S. explosive device hit his neighbor's house.
Young Mustafa Ghazwan will be implanted with an electronic device known as a cochlear implant during the outpatient surgical procedure. Components of the device are implanted in the inner ear and behind the ear.
Following the mid-day surgery, there will be a news briefing with: UCSF patient care specialists, Mustafa's father, and a representative of No More Victims, which sponsored the trip to UCSF.
UCSF surgeon Lawrence Lustig, MD, director of the UCSF Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center, and other members of the medical team are donating their professional services.
WHEN:
Friday, Jan. 16, 2009
News briefing: 4 p.m.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO OF THE SURGERY AND PATIENT:
Pool media will be used for video and photographs of the surgical procedure and of Mustafa in the recovery room. Recovery room shots will be determined based on the health of the patient.
TV: Television pool will be provided by KGO-TV. Contact Geoff Glaub, planning editor, KGO-TV, at (415) 954-8155, for arrangements.
Photography: Media interested in serving as pool photographer should contact Kirsten Michener in the UCSF News Office at 415-476-2557.
WHERE:
UCSF Parnassus Campus
Medical Sciences Building -- Room S-159
513 Parnassus Ave.
WHO:
* Ghazwan Al-Nadawi, father of the patient (with interpreter)
* Lawrence Lustig, MD, director of the UCSF Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center and Mustafa's surgeon
* Colleen K. Polite, AuD, Doctor of Audiology, senior audiologist, UCSF Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant Center, and Mustafa's audiologist
* Cole Miller, founder of No More Victims.
CONTACT: Media interested in attending the news briefing should contact Kirsten Michener at (415) 476-2557 or kmichener@pubaff.ucsf.edu. (Cell phone on Jan. 16: (415) 205-8359)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The cochlear implant has been donated by a private company, and medical team members are donating their services. Payment for other medical fees for Mustafa's care has been arranged by No More Victims, an organization that brings children injured in the war in Iraq to the United States for community-sponsored medical treatment. Mustafa and his father, a professor of media studies at Baghdad University, arrived in San Francisco on Dec. 31 to begin Mustafa's treatment. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald House, which has waived its fee for their stay. They are expected to stay in San Francisco for several months while Mustafa's implant is adjusted, and he undergoes intensive speech therapy to re-learn to speak.
PARKING:
* Public garage -- Media in standard vehicles should park in the public garage across the street from the Medical Sciences Building. Garage entry is between 400 and 500 Parnassus Ave., on the north side of the street. Keep in mind that navigating within the garage can take time. News staff will reimburse with parking stickers at the event.
* On street parking -- There will be limited reserved parking for large media van/trucks on the north side of the street in front of 500 Parnassus Ave.