27 June 2019: A contingent of Operation Restore Hope volunteers consisting of Dr Darryl Hodgkinson (Founder and Head Plastic Surgeon), Katherine Hodgkinson (Director), Alistair D’Vaz (Senior Anaesthetist) and myself:- Grant Brown (Director) visited a Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) screening day.
PCMC and ORHA work hand-in-hand to provide free surgery and ongoing care to many children suffering from complicated craniofacial conditions that are inoperable in a one week mission environment.
During this visit to Quezon City I had the opportunity to meet a very inspiring and interesting individual and felt compelled to share the store of Koji Miyata.
Dr Koji Miyata was born in Nagasaki Japan and studied at Aishi College of Dental Technology in Tokyo to become a Dental Technologist.
In 2006 Dr Miyata moved to the Philippines and settled in Manila where he commenced teaching dental technology at Emilio Aguinaldo College school of Dentistry. It was here in Manila where Dr Miyata noticed a the desperate need for prosthetic technicians not only in the Philippines but throughout Asia.
Dr Miyata embarked on a quest apply the various techniques he had acquired through years of experience in Dental technology and refine these skills to develop prosthesis for those suffering with life changing injuries or have been born with various deformities.
The initial process sounds simple in theory;
- Take an impression of a body part
- Create a mould
- Design the body part out of wax from the mould.
However one must not overlook the attention to detail that goes into every piece that Dr Miyata designs. From the finger prints on the finger to the texture of the skin, to the ever so subtle veins that run along the surface of the eye, no detail is overlooked and it’s the detail that is critical in giving the prosthetic the most authentic and realistic design possible.
As technology continued to improve Dr Miyata adopted new ways of developing his prosthesis.
In 2017 the introduction of 3D printing aided in the development of creating plastic moulds which were then used to create the silicone prosthesis.
At present there are over 100 people benefiting from Dr Miyata’s prosthesis. Most of these people are children however some others include women who have required a mastectomy due to breast cancer and Dr Miyata has even created artificial palates for dogs suffering from cleft palate.
One of Dr Miyata’s patients is a very brave 8 year old boy by the name of Nhiel Jacob who suffers from an incredibly rare form of cancer known as Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS).
Photograph by Andrea Francolini
RMS is an aggressive and highly malignant form of cancer that develops from skeletal (striated) muscle cells that have failed to fully differentiate. It is generally considered to be a disease of childhood, as the vast majority of cases occur in those below the age of 18.
RMS has caused Nhiel Jacob to lose his nose and undergo ongoing chemotherapy through PCMC.
Dr Miyata designed a custom prosthetic nose to fit Nhiel’s face and he will continue to modify his prosthesis as Nhiel Jacob continues to grow.
Today Dr Miyata operates a business in Manila called Sakura Prosthetics Medical Services. He is now training the next generation of technicians who will be able to provide prosthesis to those in need throughout in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.
You can see more of Dr Miyata’s amazing prosthesis by following him on his Instagram and Facebook.
Operation Restore Hope 