Disfigured Boy Gets a New Nose--and a Smile : Plastic surgery: He spent years undergoing painful treatments. His mother dreaded his starting school. Now Jose is happy because his face has been fixed.

A 5-year-old boy born with a disfiguring tumor on his nose now has a bright new outlook on life, free from the taunts of children and the stares of strangers.

Thank a Denver plastic surgeon. Dr. Thomas Gargan figured out a way to correct the disfigurement after other doctors had failed.

Jose Zuniga was born at home, in a crude adobe in southern New Mexico. His parents say they did not realize for weeks that he had a bulbous growth on the end of his nose.

Jose, doctors later decided, had a rare blood vessel malformation called a hemangioma.

Jose’s mother, Suzanne, says, “When he was 5 weeks old, we discovered what looked like a yellowish-green bruise on his nose. We lived in a small adobe house and there was not much light.

“County health people took him to the hospital, and they did not know what it was.”

Meanwhile, Jose’s father, Eduardo, was recovering from a broken back and Suzanne had her hands full.

Eventually, because of his lengthy military service (including six years in Vietnam) Zuniga was admitted for back treatment to the Veterans Administration hospital in Albuquerque.

“We took Jose to University Hospital in Albuquerque,” Suzanne said. “They said nothing could be done--he could bleed to death if they operated.”

Later, one doctor treated Jose’s tumor with painful steroid injections. “They hurt him so much we decided it was too hard on Jose, so we said ‘enough of that,’ ” Zuniga said.

The family then moved to Denver, where Zuniga is finishing work on a degree in human services at Metropolitan State College. He also holds a job as a domestic violence counselor.

In Denver, the Zunigas tried another doctor for Jose. This time, laser surgery was recommended to burn out the blood vessels in the nose.

“It was so painful for Jose and he struggled so hard that during one session his arm was dislocated,” Suzanne recalled. “It was so bad Jose told us he wanted to keep his tumor and have no more laser burning.”

The problems took a toll on the Zunigas’ marriage. Twice they broke up for a month; a third time they were separated three months. They decided to get back together because the separation was too hard on Jose, they said.

Then, a relative told the Zunigas about Gargan’s surgeries on two small children who had similar disfigurements.

“When they came to see me, Jose never took his eyes off the floor,” Gargan recalled. “He had no animation. He wouldn’t look me in the eyes. He never smiled.

“I had to determine what type tumor it was. We ran an MRI scan, which showed it was a blood vessel tumor occupying most of the end of his nose. If you squeezed it, it was like a sponge, full of blood. And that was the danger in surgery.

“You can’t find out how to do this type surgery in a book. You develop your own ideas. I thought about Jose for months, how I would do the surgery.”

Gargan found a way to counteract the bleeding hazard, and the surgery went well. Gargan removed the tumor, rebuilt the nasal cartilage and then contoured the skin of Jose’s nose.

Holding a now-smiling and energetic Jose on his lap while talking to a reporter, Gargan said: “He may need some touching up down the road, but it looks real good right now.”

Gargan couldn’t remember how long the surgery took. Jose’s father said it lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.

Suzanne said Jose “is a different kid. He spent most of his life sheltered. Adults and other children were really mean and cruel to Jose.

“I can enjoy taking the children to the grocery store now. I didn’t realize how much energy it took before. You couldn’t get out of a store without people making him feel bad.”

Suzanne had prepared Jose’s sister, Jennie, 7, for having to defend her little brother when he started school.

“Now she can just be a regular big sister. This has changed all of our lives, not just Jose’s.”

Gargan donates his services to families such as Jose’s, and he helps them line up financial aid to cover any remaining costs.