Ethiopian boy gets a reconstructed face and new life

DANVILLE — Nearly two years after his nose was bitten off by a hyena, 8-year-old Sisay Shimeles has a reconstructed face and a new life to go with it.

 Sisay originally was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in January from his Ethiopian home as part of a charity mission to construct him a prosthetic nose and repair his face. Now, nine months later, his surgery and new nose are complete.

 Sisay was attacked by a hyena one night near the village of Kolu when he left his family’s house to go to the bathroom. His father, Shimeles Taye, heard his son’s screams and rushed outside to help him, but the animal had already ripped off Sisay’s nose and most of his upper lip.

 Taye took his son to hospitals across Ethiopia, selling off livestock and borrowing money to pay for his son’s care.

 While at Ethiopia’s St. Yared General Hospital, Sisay was discovered by Geisinger maxiofacial surgeon Dr. Adam Waksor. A native of Et
hiopia, Waksor was on a medical mission to the country, and upon seeing Sisay, he knew he needed much more advanced treatment.

 “The first time I saw him, it was a traumatic experience,” Waksor said during the February press conference where Geisinger first introduced Sisay. “Once I saw him, I knew it was definitely impossible to treat him in Ethiopia.

” Championed by Waksor, Geisinger arranged to have Sisay and his father brought to the United States for extended treatment at the Danville hospital. The two stayed in the Ronald McDonald House on Geisinger’s campus while Sisay was operated on.

 Sisay showed off his new look during a press conference Thursday in Geisinger’s Hospital for Advanced Medicine. The prosthetic nose closely matches the color of his skin.

 “We’re only too happy to cooperate in this,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, chairman of the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. He described himself as having “the easiest part of this. I was the one who said, ‘OK, bring him over, let’s do this.’

“It was a privilege to take care of Sisay,” said Dr. Robert Pellecchia, a maxiofacial surgeon who also operated on Sisay. “It was a difficult case.

” Sisay and his surgeons made four trips to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, where a nasal prosthetic was prepared for the boy.

 Doctors at Geisinger performed reconstructive surgery on Sisay to replace his missing upper lip. Balloon-like tissue expanders were placed in Sisay’s cheeks. Every other week for several months, the expanders were filled with saline to stretch the skin of Sisay’s cheeks. The stretched skin and a piece of Sisay’s lower lip were used to create his new upper lip.

 He showed “remarkable courage” throughout the procedure, said cosmetic surgeon Dr. Joseph DeSantis. Sisay did not talk much in those days, but that’s very different now, DeSantis said.

 During the press conference, Sisay responded to some questions in English. “He’s learned English very well,” Ryan said. Although most of his attention was on a coloring book and crayons, Sisay said he likes his new nose and face and he likes all the people he’s met in America.

 Sisay is now smiling, talking and happy, Waksor said.

 “This is a great reward … a great opportunity to change a child’s life,” he said. “I’m very happy with the outcome.”

 The boy’s dad is just as pleased with the results. “He said he is greatly appreciative for the last 10 months,” said Waksor, translating for Taye from his native language of Amharic. “There are no words to express it. … He just can’t believe it. Everything has changed.”

 And the changes will not stop with Sisay’s new face. While his father is leaving for Ethiopia on Sunday, Sisay will remain in the area because a Bloomsburg family is looking to adopt him.

 Peter Doerschler and his family heard about Sisay through local newspapers and met him through family contacts. He remembered in particular a Fourth of July party where Sisay and his father were in attendance, and the families bonded during that time. “We had just recognized him as a great young kid at that point,” Doerschler said.

 Sisay has gone to the family’s house a few times as a guest and playmate of Doerschler’s 5-year-old and 8-year-old daughters. “They have a great relationship together, the three of them,” he said.

 Doerschler said he hopes Sisay will start school in Bloomsburg on Monday.

 “He will miss his son,” Waksor said of Taye. The boy’s father said it is a sacrifice to leave Sisay in America, but with six other children to care for in Ethiopia, he feels it is in Sisay’s best interests.
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