Sandi undergoes operation<\/p>\n
PERTH, Australia (AFP): An Indonesian youth born with a face
\nso deformed he had considered killing himself, has undergone the
\nfirst of two operations to correct the problem, surgeons said
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
The surgical team, led by Perth plastic surgeon Tim Cooper,
\ncarried out complex surgery on 17-year-old Sandi Gisisi, from a
\ncoconut farming family on the tiny island of Ternate in the
\nHalmahera group, east of Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
After the first operation which was carried out at the
\nbeginning of this month, the team is now preparing for a second
\noperation Tuesday in Perth's Mount Hospital.<\/p>\n
Cooper met Gisisi in Ambon last year when he spent two weeks
\nthere as a member of an Interplast Australia team which carried
\nout surgery on more than 60 children who turned up for help.<\/p>\n
\"I realized then that I could not fix him up properly without
\nbringing him back to Perth,\" Cooper said last month as Gisisi
\narrived in Australia for treatment.<\/p>\n
Cooper said Saturday the initial surgery to correct a gaping
\nhole in Sandi's upper jaw had been even more successful than he
\nhad expected.<\/p>\n
He had thought it would be necessary to take a flap of skin
\nfrom Sandi's forearm to reconstruct the area, but there was
\nenough tissue inside the mouth for him to work with.<\/p>\n
One of the nurses looking after Sandi, Marie Sheehan, said: \"I
\nthink he's a bit overwhelmed by it all, but he's putting on a
\nvery brave face.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sandi-undergoes-operation-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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