patient story

patient name: Abram Reed

age: 2

condition: nose wound

seen in: plastic and reconstructive surgery

providers: Salim Mancho, DO, FACS

Abra and Rick Reed are no strangers to Dayton Children’s. Parents of four boys, they had their fair share of visits. One ordinary day, their youngest, 2-year-old Abram, was riding his tricycle when he rode into some freshly cut bushes. Abram backed out of the bush and went to Abra, who noticed one of the sharp branches had gone right through his nose. They went straight to the emergency department at Dayton Children’s main campus.

a second opinion 

The nurse examined Abram and felt comfortable stitching up the wound, but something in Abra’s gut was telling her that wasn’t enough. She asked for a specialist’s opinion, and the nurse contacted plastic surgery. Salim Mancho, DO, FACS was the plastic surgeon on-call and took a look at Abram’s nose. Based on what he saw, Dr. Mancho admitted Abram and scheduled a surgery for the next morning.

“Without Dr. Mancho stepping in, we would have had a much different journey. We felt very validated as parents that we did the right thing and pushed for a consult,” Abra shared.

surgery and recovery

The surgery lasted around an hour and a half. During surgery, Dr. Mancho discovered Abram had a 3 millimeter hole in his septum. This is a large deviation, and Abram’s nose would have caved in without this surgery. Abram needed 10 stitches inside his septum and another 10 stitches on the outside of his nose. He also had a stent placed in his nose after surgery, and will need that for at least three months.

special touches for families

“The nurse we had that night was fabulous, and the whole team was great,” Abra shared. “Dayton Children's is amazing. They gave Abram a teddy bear, and then the play areas for kids and vouchers for food [for parents and caregivers] are extra special touches. They do a great job of making it enjoyable for families.”

“There was also a wonderful worker that sang to him as he was being wheeled back into the OR and it was magical and really helped to ease our nerves,” Abra added.

back to his brothers

Abram is recovering remarkably well and is back to doing everything his brothers do: riding bikes, being outdoors and playing soccer. Abram will probably need another surgery as his nose grows, but he won’t let that stop him from following in his brothers’ footsteps.