Larry Nichter

Spiders, vampire bats, anacondas and other creatures of the wild

Amazon didn’t seem to worry Larry Nichter as much as the grief and

tribulations of the people who inhabited the hostile habitat.

The Newport Beach plastic surgeon has traveled to poverty-stricken

nations all over the world through Plasticos, a traveling team of

doctors, nurses and coordinators who volunteer their time and pay for

these trips to perform corrective surgeries on people who cannot

afford such treatments.

Nichter founded the group four years ago, but has been going on

these trips for several years, all of them on his own time and

expense. He has trekked to Ecuador, Guatemala, Vietnam, Micronesia,

Palau, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka , Mexico and the Honduras.

Why does he do it?

“Everyone goes into medicine for humanitarian reasons,” he said.

“We become doctors because we like helping people. But this is an

experience that’s hard to describe. It recharges your batteries and

you’re exposed to a lot of the realities of the world.”

Nichter and his team not only help cure their patients’ physical

deformities, but also teach their craft to local doctors in those

developing nations.

“That’s a very important part of our work,” he said. “One of our

goals is to help them become self-sufficient.”

The trips are not exotic vacations. They each last at least 10

days -- mostly grueling days when the team performs at least a dozen

surgeries a day, most of them under unimaginable conditions and

circumstances.

The challenges come from the rough topography of the regions as

well.

“We’ve had to wade across rivers sometimes to reach the remote

areas,” said Nichter.

But it’s been worth it every time, he says. Sometimes, they have

found a crowd of a 100 people who waited in the rain for two days

straight to consult with the doctors. Most of Nichter’s patients are

children with severe birth defects such as cleft lips, webbed feet or

hands and those with burn injuries.

One of them was 12-year-old Marcelo Katani, a denizen of the deep

Amazon who was burned during a fire that occurred when he was left

alone with his three brothers and sisters in their thatched hut. Two

of his siblings died in the blaze and Marcelo, then a 5-month-old

infant, suffered severe burns on his arm and lost the ability to

extend his elbow or raise his shoulder. Nichter was able to release

the scar tissue enabling Marcelo to use his arm, elbow and shoulder

normally.

Watching his patients enjoy their new look and do things they’ve

never done before has been rewarding for Nichter.

“When you see the expression on their faces, it’s one of

disbelief,” he said. “It’s as if a miracle has happened to them.”

-- Compiled by Deepa Bharath