Bros is a 24-year-old tuk tuk driver who lives with his wife and daughter in Cambodia. After a full work day, Bros enjoys listening to the radio or playing football with his friends.
Since childhood, Bros has experienced recurrent discharge from his right ear due to chronic ear infections.
“It makes me unhappy that I get discharge every day,” shares Bros. “I need to put cotton in my ears every time this happens. Sometimes, I can’t work as a tuk tuk driver because the pain is so bad, so I lose money to support my family.”
Doctors at our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), discovered a cholesteatoma—an abnormal skin growth located behind the eardrum—in Bros’s right ear. A cholesteatoma initially develops as a cyst after chronic ear infections. Over time, the cyst sheds layers of old skin that collect within the ear and form a mass that can grow large enough to cause hearing loss, dizziness, or facial paralysis.
For $809, Bros will undergo a mastoidectomy, a surgical procedure in which doctors remove the diseased cells in the hollow, air-filled spaces in the skull behind the ears. The cells—known as mastoid air cells—are diseased as a result of the chronic ear infections that spread to the skull structures near Bros’s right ear. Doctors will also remove the cholesteatoma that has grown behind his eardrum.
Funding for Bros also covers the costs of two hearing tests, one night in the hospital, one day of inpatient post-operative care, and three outpatient follow-up visits in the month following surgery.
“After a mastoidectomy, Bros will be able to have improved hearing, and the discharge will stop,” adds CSC.