|
Yes, I look into and deal with problems of the endocrine glands. The area of Central Africa has the highest endemic rate of the problem of "goiter", seen here, and cretinism, the congenital hypothyroidism and failure of development just alluded to, that has brought me back many times over more than a decade into this area of ex-Zaire. This unfortunate woman has a massive goiter, which has not only caused her disfigurement, but has also distorted her airway, and the eventual outcome of the part of this extending into her chest along her trachea will cause her to be strangled. I have attempted surgical methods of relief of problems even as advanced as this one, but more importantly to prevent the problem from developing to this advanced stage. It is possible to completely prevent cretinism and to mitigate the effects of iodine deficiency on some, but not all, cases of goiter. The longitudinal study of the individuals and the social groupings which they compose in this setting of medical intervention has been the subject of some of my graduate studies with quite surprising results. I would be happy to tell you more about them.