Once-Disfigured Girl Attends Prom After 18 Surgeries

[Mugu]

Foxnews

Cody Hall was born with a hemangioma, a tumorous birthmark that distorted the shape of her face and grew larger as she got older.

When she was 1-year-old, her doctors in England told her parents that nothing could be done about her condition, so her parents took her to see surgeons in the U.S.

Fourteen years and 18 reconstructive surgeries later, most of them at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, the girl who once had a hopelessly deformed face was flashing a beautiful smile at the prom.

"Cody came to me several years back after she had undergone an initial procedure in San Francisco," Hall's surgeon, Milton Waner, told FOXNews.com. "She had some really bad problems at the time. It was a very difficult situation. She had excessive scarring from an aggressive hemangioma."

Before:


After:


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359161,00.html">Complete article

[Fleshdancer]

1. She looks great!

I hope she had a great time.

[Bucky]

6. Even better when you consider the fact that she's British

Ooops, I didn't say that out loud, did I?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. the brits have two kinds of women

And I am NOT going to say anything more.

[DS1]

15. please do

I'd like to hear this

[Unrepentant Fenian]

22. Don't be a tease!!!!!! n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. when I was studying there, I had two categories,

the ones that would sleep with a yank, and the rest of them.

[zanne]

60. When I was studying there, there was one kind of British guy...

The ones who wanted to sleep with a Yank.

[Dorian Gray]

42. Me too

How incredible! She looks fantastic!

[dipsydoodle]

2. Totally amazing

She must be a very brave person.

[RedCappedBandit]

3. Good for her! nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Wow! :^D

[rockymountaindem]

5. Have I ever mentioned that I think surgeons are great people?

Because they are. Amazing.

[kestrel91316]

7. Doing surgery is very cool. There's nothing quite like going in there

and cutting and sewing actual flesh, and seeing the results when all is healed. I LOVE fixing boo-boos. If I had gone into human medicine I would have become a reconstructive surgeon. I love this sort of story with a happy ending.

Cat bite abscesses have to suffice for my fix-it-up drama in real life........

[Horse with no Name]

32. I have a friend who is a doc

but he was a vet first and he said vet school was MUCH harder than med school...so just in case you are thinking about it...there it is!

[kestrel91316]

36. I wonder if your friend is the same guy who was in my class in vet school

at CSU. He went on to get a MS in anatomy, IIRC, then went to medical school and became a pediatric neurosurgeon.

It is really really rare for a graduate of vet school to turn their back on vet medicine like that......we all wind up working in the profession, and almost all for life (some do eventually wind up in other fields as a second career).

I have had a few physicians confess to me that they wanted to go to vet school but couldn't get in so they settled for second best and went to medical school.......

[blondie58]

34. lol, kestrel! But cats have the advantage of FUR to cover

any remaining damage.

[kestrel91316]

37. True. But that doesn't stop compulsive types like me from doing

what is basically plastic surgery techniques in routine surgery closures (with more expensive suture) so as to make the scar almost invisible, lol. It's a point of pride when nobody can find the scar down the road.

I close all my spays and most my other skin incisions with a buried intradermal suture - nothing for kitty to lick/chew at, and no need to return for suture removal. Most human general surgeons these days close with a frickin' stapler, for crying out loud - leaves those horrible railroad tracks........lazy, IMHO.

[blondie58]

38. what a great vet you are

thank you so much. That is so sweet.

[Muttocracy]

55. good for you - you found your calling! nt

[NashVegas]

64. I Know a Group of Plastic Surgeons (Well, Not All of Them)

Who travel every year to places considered 3rd world and do several operations on disfigured locals. It's more or less their way of trying to get some karma back for all the fluff they do for the wealthy.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. I am so glad for her

I've read the sad life of the Elephant Man, a person also disfigured, and in more than his face. In the past, people who were disfigured in this way were either shunned or exploited by side shows.

[boobooday]

10. She is lovely

Great that they could help her.

[BlooInBloo]

11. :)))))) Good for her!

[MikeNearMcChord]

12. Those are the good stories that puts a smile on your face

and great hope in humanity.

[brentspeak]

13. The article says, "About 1 out of 10 people has a hemangioma"

That does not sound like an accurate figure.

[lightningandsnow]

14. Hemangiomas are usually very small.

Hers was obviously an extreme case.

[Gabi Hayes]

16. I had one in my liver: over 300 blood vessels had to be cauterized

lost over half of that organ.

it's mostly grown back....the liver, not the hemangioma

I weighed twelve pounds less after it came out

[lightningandsnow]

18. Ouch!

Hope you're better now.

:hug:

[trotsky]

17. Correct.

Our daughter was born with one. It was a red spot on the end of her nose. It faded considerably in her first year of life and now at age 7 is completely undetectable.

[Prefer]

19. I think I have one under my balzak,

but I kind of never got it snipped because it's not like anyone spends any time around there...

[Muttocracy]

20. what a happy ending!

[jmowreader]

44. The guy at the end is happiest of all...

"I'm gonna get laid with FIVE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN at the SAME TIME tonight!"

The surgeons did an incredible job on her.

[Auntie Bush]

21. Thanks you for that story! It hit home!

My favorite niece had a hemangeoma on her face too. It went from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth and across her nose. Nothing like the one that poor girl had...but pretty ugly. Her Dr. said not to operate because it will kind of die on it's own. But when she was in her late teens they operated and later she had one surgery with a plastic surgeon. She's now beautiful and is just as beautiful inside as she is outside. I love her dearly. I think the whole experience gave her a special compassionate outlook on life.

[JNelson6563]

24. Bravo!

:toast:

[Vinca]

25. Finally . . . an uplifting story on DU. She looks gorgeous! nt

[bean fidhleir]

26. The cost: $400,000. Worth it? (From a social standpoint, I mean)

Obviously it was worth it from a humanitarian one.

Should society cover such repair, or only problems that threaten physical life and health?

[angstlessk]

27. it is obviously not covered by the brit's free health care system as the money was donated

so she live a normal life. I think reconstructive vs vainity plastic surgery should be covered.

[Horse with no Name]

33. It's not necessarily vanity

As I stated downthread, they are very vascular so if she had an injury to her face, she could bleed to death.

[ChazII]

45. Speaking emotionally and as a mom to a

facially challenged child, this is not vanity. It is reconstructive surgery. My son has a plexiform tumor on his face and the ridicule when he was a grade school child was unbelievable. Society does not accept those who are facially different.

[Posteritatis]

35. I don't see a bright dividing line between humanitarian and social standpoints

That said, the surgeons involved in this one Earned Their Pay with the job they did. Wow.

[slackmaster]

39. Yes, I think so

Should society cover such repair, or only problems that threaten physical life and health?

Funny you should ask such a question on a forum where a sizeable chunk of the participants think the public should pay for gender reassignment surgery for a convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence.

[NorthernSpy]

43. seconded...

:thumbsup:

[Muttocracy]

54. In this case it could have been a serious health matter too:

http://mayoclinic.com/health/hemangioma/DS00848/DSECTION=7

Complications

Occasionally, a hemangioma that grows or shrinks especially quickly forms an open sore. This can lead to pain, bleeding, scarring or infection. Depending on where the hemangioma is located, it may interfere with your child's vision, breathing or hearing.


Seems like that would be the case for where hers was!

[mainegreen]

41. If it helps her fit in, integrate and become a productive member of society? Yes, even in dollars.

Rather than having her be ostracized and contribute little, I suspect now she'll contribute more back over the course of a lifetime than the 400,000 to fix her. One life is an expensive thing to waste.

[Lorien]

59. If it's between living a normal life or a hellish one, yes

it should be covered. I was born with deformed jaws (both upper and lower) that weren't an extremely obvious problem before I was eight. By the time I was 12 I was being bullied for my appearance and slurred speech INCESSANTLY. Even members of my own family said that I looked like "a retarded ape" of some kind-and I was by no means as deformed as that poor child. If she hadn't had the surgeries her life would have been unbearable.People need to start placing as much importance on mental health as they do physical health (and I suspect there were physical problems for her as well with that kind of deformity).

[Chimichurri]

28. She' beautiful!

[ThatsMyBarack]

29. From those two pictures...

I never would have guessed it's the same girl! :loveya:

[npincus]

30. Bless her, and her parents!

[Horse with no Name]

31. I've taken care of kids who have had these

and they are so much harder to remove than it looks.
They are VERY vascular so you can only do a little at a time.
She looks stunning, doesn't she?
What a proud moment for her and her mom.

[Indenturedebtor]

40. Great news! She's even kinda cute now. Very impressive n/t

[Midlodemocrat]

46. What a great story! She's lovely.

[TonyHall]

47. Message from Cody's Father

Dear friends,

Just a quick note to thank the majority of you for your fantastic support. Cody has had a very difficult life. It is only in recent years she has been able to come to terms with who she is, due to the pioneering procedures used by her fantastic surgeon, Dr Milton Waner. He is a genuinely humble man who has devoted most of his life to helping others. Without him my daughter would not be the confident young lady she is today. She is now excited by the future rather than pessimistic. This man has given Cody a new lease of life and we as a family are eternally thankful.

It upsets me, though does not come as a surprise to find the odd insensitive comment from people who are ignorant of all the facts to the extent of the haemangioma that grew so quickly on Cody's face. I have read cutting comments about her teeth and the fact they are not perfect. There is a simple explanation for this! She was unfortunate enough to have the haemangioma grow inside her mouth especially across the top palate. I hasten to add that straightening them is high on her agenda but in the short term she would prefer to have her features and skin bettered.

She has caused quite a stir on both sides of "the pond". And quite frankly I'm glad. It's about time people realized we are not all perfect and regardless of race, colour, disability etc we all have a role to play in society. My daughter can walk tall , hold her head up and show the world just how beautiful she is both inside and out. She has been so brave over the years and brought together many people. She has a message to tell the world and that is love and perseverance can conquer any obstacle.

Once again many many thanks for all the kind words of support. I am humbled to know there are so many kind caring people in this world

Sincerely

Tony Hall

[Midlodemocrat]

48. Please give her my best.

I think she is an inspiration. Best to you and your entire family!

(and, her teeth look fine to me)

:hug:

[Kerrytravelers]

49. WOW! She is just strikingly beautiful!

With or without the surgery.

I am glad she is able to receive the care she needed and looks to be living a wonderful life. My best to you and yours.


And welcome to DU! We have many members from countries outside of America, so you are more than welcome!!! :hi:


kerrytravelers

[cbc5g]

51. Insensitive comments? I would smash anyone in the face repeatedly who would say such shit

[Crabby Appleton]

52. She's beautiful!

Regards and best wishes to you and your family.

[Shakespeare]

53. I have great admiration for your daughter.

It couldn't have been easy to undergo all those procedures, but I'm so happy you were able to find that wonderful surgeon. She's a lovely young woman, and I think she has a gorgeous smile!

[Muttocracy]

56. You sound like a great family. Welcome to DU!

[PassingFair]

57. She is beautiful.

You and your wife must be STRONG people
to make it through all of those operations
with her.

Good luck to you all!

[bean fidhleir]

58. Congratulations to you all.

Cody is positively radiant in that photo, and very beautiful. She's also pretty, I'd guess, although that's hard to tell without seeing her at 6 in the morning with unwashed hair after a short night's sleep :evilgrin:

I was gratified to see that everyone said "yes" who responded to my question about whether the repair would have been worth the money as a public expense. It's shameful that it wasn't covered as a public expense.

Tell her that if her teeth don't look any worse on balance than that photo indicates, she can save her money and not bother having anything more done to them - they look fine!

[Lorien]

61. Dr. Waner did and amazing job. I'm so glad that she had such wonderful

parents who were willing to do all they could for her, too. Having grown up with a much milder deformity and having had reconstructive surgery, I can say that even from my own experiences I consider such medical procedures "life saving". Trying to "fit in" as an average teen is tough enough as it is!

I really didn't notice anything but her beautiful smile-her teeth look fine from the photo in the article. I had eight years of braces as a kid and now have them again, all because of ongoing problems with my upper and lower jaws. Once she does have the braces come off, let her know that she MUST wear that retainer throughout her life! I was hoping not to have them again in my 40s, but here I am.

Best of luck to her-she's a beauty!

:loveya: :hug: :toast:

[Vickers]

62. Dude, don't listen to the jerks around here. Like any (large) group, we

have our share of jackasses. While they may at times be vocal, they are hardly representative of DU.

Best to your daughter, and strength to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Vickers

[EOTE]

63. Congratulations, and welcome to DU!

Frankly, I can find no fault with your daughter's teeth, they look great along with everything else. Even more impressive by British standards (so just kidding). Congratulations again for the uplifting story, we hope to hear more from you.

[cbc5g]

50. Surgery was absolutely worth it

Those who have had disfigurements or severe scarring know how society treats them. For them, its an overwhelming feeling of happiness to be accepted as a normal member of society.


I had scarring across my scalp and lost 1/4 to 1/3 of my hair that was very noticeable when i was 9 to about 15 and got shit for it all the time. I had it corrected somewhat when I was 15. It's a great feeling to not be stared at and humiliated.