Houston Surgeon Turns Kids Into Superheroes Through Colorful Bandage Creations
"Add a little sunshine into anything you're doing," pediatric surgeon Dr. Matthew Greives tells PEOPLE
Courtesy Garcia Family
Briza Garcia with his Captain Marvel bandage that Dr. Greives made for him post-surgeryFollowing what are sometimes intense surgeries, plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Greives tries to make his pint-sized patients smile when they first look in the mirror.
"You make somebody smile and that's the best medicine,” says Greives, 43, who is chief of plastic surgery at both UT Health Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital.
He specializes in craniofacial reconstruction, working with children who have trauma to their face or skull, or congenital issues with the brain, skull or face.
After kids have surgery on their heads, they generally require a head wrap to reduce swelling and help healing. Usually it’s a boring gauze or ACE bandage — “nothing special,” says Greives.
For some time, he would pull the ends up to make bunny or teddy bear ears. But for the past five years, he's kicked it up a notch, creating Minions, Spider-Man, Captain America, Flash, Batman and more characters on kids' bandages.
Courtesy Zsalesia Porter
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“I really like the fact that my whole team gets into it,” he adds. “They're always coming up with new things to try.”
Instead of solely covering up the surgical wound, he creates something exciting that his patients actually want to look at, he says.
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"The kids and the families and the nurses now have this kind of cool thing to refocus their attention on ... something to make them a little happier,” he adds.
Courtesy Memorial Hermann
Dr. GreivesIt's a way to make the experience of being in the hospital more fun, and less frightening.
“You're taking something that's either scary or boring and medicine-y and making it more kid-friendly,” Greives continues. “It's looking for opportunities to add a little sunshine into anything you're doing. We get so stuck in medicine with really what we have to do, but you can do a little bit more and make a huge difference."
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