NEWPORT BEACH : Free Facial Repair for Battered Women

Some of the estimated 4 million American women who are battered each year in the United Sates can have facial injuries treated free by plastic surgeons participating in a special program.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has worked with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Denver to set up a network for abused women, George Brennan, a Newport Beach surgeon and president of the academy, said at a symposium here this week. Battered women with facial injuries can be linked with a nearby doctor by calling (800) 842-4546.

Academy members consider themselves “self-esteem doctors,” Brennan said. “The idea here is that these women suffer from the lowest form of self-esteem. The goal is to break the cycle. We are going to rehabilitate their bodies, and the coalition is going to rehabilitate their souls.”

The academy has long sent surgeons overseas to treat birth defects or war injuries, Brennan said. This year, they decided to devote some of that effort to domestic problems.

Rita Smith, director of the Denver-based coalition, said she learned from her experience working in shelters that abusers frequently aim for the face.

The majority of these injuries require medical treatment, Brennan said. Doctors will give immediate aid for bruises, cuts, burns and broken bones in the cheeks, nose and jaw, he said. Help will also be available for older injuries.

“People have had fractured noses and never had them repaired,” he said. “So they are walking around with noses that don’t breathe or don’t work. Or, they are walking around with disfiguring scars.”