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Free Help for U.S. Children With Physical Deformities is Available From Fresh Start Surgical Gifts; VNR Available

Posted on: Monday, 10 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Fueled by a growth in volunteers, donors, and staff, Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a non- profit founded in 1991, has initiated a program to inform families in the U.S. who have children with physical deformities about our free reconstructive plastic surgery and related medical services. Fresh Start serves U.S.-based as well as international disadvantaged children with physical deformities caused by birth defects, accidents, abuse, or disease.

The Patient Outreach program includes a Video News Release for local and national news organizations, Backgrounder CD with before/ after patient images and patient/doctor profiles, and a direct mailer with a poster that communicates the mission and programs of Fresh Start. Individuals and groups interested in helping Fresh Start to transform the lives of more children with physical deformities can contact Steve Edwards, Chief Operating Officer about receiving the Video News Release and program materials.

Approximately 80 to 100 disadvantaged children and young adults with physical deformities receive free medical services during Surgery Weekend, held seven times per year in San Diego County, California. At Surgery Weekend a team of volunteers, including highly skilled physicians and nurses, medical technicians, speech pathologists, and support staff donate their time and expertise to provide disadvantaged children with physical deformities the highest possible medical services and on-going care.

Fresh Start brings patients to San Diego, California to better manage their care, particularly for children requiring complex and/ or multiple procedures. Fresh Start provides multi- disciplinary care and continuous follow-up with all our patients. While some surgeries correcting a child's deformity are fairly simple, others are extremely complex requiring numerous surgeries and medical treatments over the course of many years. Fresh Start handles a wide variety of cases, including Nevus (large, dark, hairy birth marks), scar tissue, facial damage due to accidents or abuse, cleft lip and palate, hemangioma (a benign tumor of dilated blood vessels), and microtia (born with an unusually small external ear).

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Since 1991 Fresh Start has provided over $11,000,000 in donated reconstructive surgeries, dental clinics, and other medical services. Last fiscal year (July 2004 - June 2005) Fresh Start provided over $1 million in donated medical services, including 163 surgical procedures for over 100 patients. Approximately 2,222 surgical procedures have been performed for 1,261 patients and over 4,000 patients have been provided medical services, including surgery, dental services, laser treatments, and speech therapy services since its founding. For more information about Fresh Start please visit http://www.freshstart.org or call Steve Edwards at 760- 448-2015 direct line or 888-551-1003 toll free.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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