The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is pleased to launch a new public education effort this month—Reconstructing Lives—highlighting state-of-the-art reconstructive procedures through compelling stories of unique patient experiences.
The profound differences in patients' appearances and lives, as well as the extraordinary efforts of plastic surgeons to care for their patients, is inspiring.
Every year, more than 5 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures are performed in the United States. Many of them are life-changing for patients and for the surgeons themselves.
Marie "Hana" Gebrewold
At just 6 months old, Marie "Hana" Gebrewold fell out of her bed—beginning nearly three decades of suffering, hope, and—all too often—shattering disappointment. Her doctors in Ethiopia treated her two broken hands, but no one noticed her broken jaw. As she grew, it became increasingly lopsided, affecting her appearance, speech and ability to chew.
Teeba Fadhil
An improvised explosive device (IED) struck the taxi of 18-month-old Teeba Fadhil and her 3-year-old brother as they traveled on a Baghdad street in September 2003. The explosion killed Teeba’s brother and left her with second-degree burns on her hands and head. She spent the next 40 days in the hospital and was left with significant scarring.
Elaine Ferri
Elaine Ferri has been riding horses since she was 2 years old. On July 8, 2007, Ferri was working with a horse named Forbidden Aly when every trainer’s worst nightmare occurred. The young filly became frightened and kicked, shattering all of the bones in the central and left side of her face with one blow.
Geraldine Rivero
Imagine: throughout your whole life you have been told, "Oh, what a pretty face,"—and then, in a split-second, a bizarre accident puts that face, and your life, at risk.
This is not a set up for a Grey’s Anatomy script. It’s a chapter from Geraldine Rivero’s life story.
Rivero slipped in the bathroom and a prong on a stainless-steel rack on the back of the door pierced the orbital rim under her right eye and lodged in her sinus cavity.
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