Plastic Surgeons Offer Free Help to Missing Boy Disfigured in Fire

Two plastic surgeons on Saturday offered to help the family of a missing 14-year-old boy whose face was severely scarred in a fire.

The offer was greeted with words of joy by the aunt of Francisco Vargas Jr., an eighth-grader at South Junior High School in Anaheim, who has been missing since April 28.

“That’s wonderful. We think those are fine offers. Unfortunately, we only wish that Francisco was here so he can finally get the help he wanted,” said the boy’s aunt, Inez Mendoza.

The doctors, Dr. Walter Ledergerber with the European Clinic for Cosmetic Surgery in Newport Beach, and Dr. Jorge Luhan, a private plastic surgeon also with an office in Newport Beach, said they decided to offer their services for free after reading about the boy’s plight.

“I’m a board-certified plastic surgeon and, frankly, I’m surprised that the family had a difficult time finding a doctor who would help,” Luhan said in a telephone interview.

“The sad part is, of course, that Francisco is still missing. But my offer stands,” Luhan said.

Francisco’s parents said the boy left home with only his blue bicycle and $50. Francisco, who was born in Mexico City, told a classmate at school that he was going to return to Mexico.

The boy’s mother, Felipa Vargas, said that on the day Francisco was last seen, he was depressed about his schoolwork and his parents’ failure to find a doctor who could perform cosmetic surgery to reduce or remove his long facial scars.

The scarring, which obscures a cheek, resulted about a year ago in Mexico when he was burned in a fire started by children playing with matches.

The family emigrated to the United States to educate their children here and also to find help for Francisco. But because his father was unemployed, they were turned down by several hospitals and clinics because they did not have enough money and lacked health insurance.