NELSPRUIT - When one looks at little Christinah Khoza (8) today, she looks like any other girl her age. But on Wednesday morning, she was still bearing an unsightly burden of 866 grams of keloid, which is an extreme overgrowth of scar tissue, around her neck.
A group of Good Samaritans, including her school principal, have made a life-changing operation possible, enabling Christinah to carry on with her life in less pain and discomfort. She has two more keloids that will be removed at a later stage.
Plastic surgeon
Dr André van Schalkwyk, anaesthetist, Dr Ivan Dancaster, oncologist
Dr Sarita Retief and the staff of Lowveld Day Hospital agreed to treat Christinah free of charge, after Ms Thandi Khoza Maredi, principal of Ingwenyama Combined School where she is a learner, contacted Van Schalkwyk last year.
Christinah, an orphan, is being raised by her grandparents. Her cousin, Ms Alyce Khoza and Maredi accompanied her to the hospital on Wednesday.
Lowvelder found the skinny and petite Christinah in a hospital bed where she was busy colouring in. She was extremely shy and would only answer to Maredi, who explained that the keloid was quite painful and itchy. "It all started three years ago when a small tumour was removed in her neck," Maredi said. "It was successfully removed, but keloid started forming soon after."
Christinah got ear-piercings which also formed the excessive  scar tissue. She also has a keloid on her side, which formed after a mere injection.
"The keloid beneath her chin was removed at Themba Hospital and a hospital in Gauteng, but it simply grew back," Maredi sighed. She could not be helped at state hospitals any longer, and Maredi heard about Van Schalkwyk from another physician.
"I contacted him and the hospital to enquire if they could help Christinah. They agreed," she smiled. Van Schalkwyk humbly refused to pose for a photo during Lowvelder’s visit. "It is Christinah’s only chance of recovery. It is a wonderful privilege to make a difference in an innocent child’s life," he explained his reasons for performing the surgery free of charge.
He explained before the procedure that he would have to do a skin transplant after the keloid was removed. "Ideally, we would have to administer radiation to prevent the keloid from growing back, but then her body would reject the transplanted skin," he said.
Fortunately, a skin transplant was not necessary and he was able to pull the pieces of skin together and insert stitches after he removed the massive piece of flesh during a three hour operation. It consisted merely of skin, blood vessels and glands of which some have been sent away for further tests.
Christinah will now be able to receive radiotherapy, compliments of Retief. Van Schalkwyk added that Christinah will probably suffer from keloid for the rest of her life. "The condition is genetic," he explained. He plans to remove the remaining keloids at a later stage.
Maredi cried upon seeing Christinah after the operation. Lowvelder returned to the hospital after she had recovered from the anaesthetic. She was eating ice cream, with Maredi still by her bedside. Christinah still would not say a word, but Maredi said she could tell the little girl was very happy.
Obviously a principal who takes great interest in her learners’ welfare, she sang the praises of the team at Lowveld Day Hospital that opened a whole new world for Christinah.