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Show S . I if ' ? i j; Kopits proudly r, ' spreads out on 1 - a table in his Balti- more clinic are tra- ditional and at first glance unre- - , -- U WEDDING PICTURES go, the photographs that Dr. Steven -- thatofknequates markable. The white gown, bride, clad in a is radiant and beautiful as she walks down the aisle on the arm of her handsome bridegroom, cuts the wedding cake and celebrates the joyous occasion. Then Kopits hands me another set of pictures photographs of a deformed dwarf child. This was the bride, Ellen Highland, before 85 hours of surgery. In 22 separate operations. Dr. Kopits rebuilt her from the ground up and assured a future for a woman who will never grow more than 40 inches tall. This," says Kopits, gesturing to the two sets of photographs, is what my life and work is all about. If Ellen had not sought help, she probably would be dead by now or at best paralyzed with severe deformities. Now she can live a totally normal life." The Hungarian-bor- n Kopits, 49, is thought to be the only physician in the world who devotes himself entirely to the orthopedic problems of dwarfs, employing his surgical skills to prevent and correct the often severe bone deformities that cause progressive crippling in many forms of genetic dwarfism. Without skilled surgery, many dwarfs are condemned to lives of pain. Some die, often in their teens or 20s, from respiratory and other complications. Little people have to overcome an adversity that we can hardly fathom," Kopits says in his softly accented English. When I first began studying dwarfism, I found a group of patients who were totally neglected, where the level of medical knowledge was abysmally low. Now Im franticallytrying to bring their treatment up to par with the rest of medicine. In a society that often equates tallness with brains, authority and physical attractiveness, being extremely short can be a serious handicap. The characters portrayed by Americas most successful dwarf actors Herve Villechaize. formerly of Fantasy Island , and Billy are video exBarty, a TV personality tensions of traditional dwarf roles as comic or cute foils for lead characters. The countrys estimated 25.000 dwarfs are among the most visible members of society due to their stature; yet, ironically, they remain one of the least known. Ernie and Dolores Ott. a dwarf couple with two young children, live in Wheaton, Md. Their experiences are typical. Since childhood and for the full-leng- th tdbiesswiUi physical attmctweness anddherposffive attributes,bemg extremely short canbea serious h an dicap Or. Steven Kopits surrounded by friends v and patients at a recent 0 Little People of America convention in CofcunMa, Md. A Doctor Fights Rr The Little Ffeople next 20 years, people would ask me seriously when I was going to join the circus, recalls Ernie Ott, who holds an M.B.A. degree in finance from Duke University and works as a financial analyst for IBM. You are constantly reminded you are different, and its an incredible obstacle for some. Steven Kopits and his longtime associate, Diane Davis, hear such things almost daily from patients and their families, who come from all over the U.S. and 33 foreign countries. In 15 BY years, Kopits has performed 2500 operations on dwarfs, often using techniques that he pioneered. His surgical schedule is booked for the next three work weeks, years. Despite his0-hou- r there is never enough time to accomplish everything. Dr. Kopits and Davis, a nurse, strive to provide the finest care possible for their patients, regardless of their ability to pay. He makes a special effort to hold clinics at national and regional meetings of Little People of America and even schedules clinical consultations at airports when he has layovers between planes. His salary as an associate professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is less than what he could earn in private practice. He gives patients his home telephone number and invites them to call anytime. There is a saying that a physician should not become emotionally involved with patients, he observes. 1 dont think you can be a good physician un- - continued MICHAEL SATCHELL PA6E 12 FEBRUARY 2, 1986 PARADE MAGAZINE |
