A doctor at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is getting a lot of attention for performing surgery - on a stuffed animal.
A photo posted on the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin's Facebook page shows Dr. Travis Groth stitching up one of his patient's stuffed animal, a "Mike Wazowski" from Monsters, Inc.
"Ryan has probably a thousand stuffed animals, but this one is his favorite," said Tony Jasen, Ryan's father.
Tony says his son takes the stuffed animal everywhere. As a result, the toy is very worn out. So last month when Ryan had to have surgery, Dr. Groth also brought Mike Wazowski into the operating room.
"He saw the tear and said 'you know what, I can tell this is his best friend so I'm going to patch him up too,'" said Tony Jasen.
Groth even called an official "timeout" before the procedure, something surgeons do before operating where they say the patient's name and why they are there.
"When I operate, I will wear surgical loops which are magnifying glasses so I just kept those on and sowed up his arm with extra stitches and used the normal operating instruments," said Groth.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin says that their doctors, nurses and staff go out of their way to make sure every child feels comfortable and safe.
"When he woke up, he saw his best buddy also kind of patched up and had bandages around him so he felt like he was on the same page with him," said Tony Jasen.
Groth says by fixing their toys, it can sometimes help the child heal too.
"By seeing that their toys underwent a procedure as well, I think it just brightens up their day," said Groth.
Both surgeries went well, and the child and the stuffed animal are back home recovering.
