San Fernando Valley : Surgery May Finally Put Smile on Girl’s Face
The little blond girl who never smiled will be rolled on a gurney into an operating room in Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Center in Woodland Hills two days before Thanksgiving.
Dr. Ronald Zuker, a Canadian surgeon, will operate on her, using delicate implements, microscopes and tiny needles.
He will install a muscle taken from her thigh into the lower left side of her cheek. He will then attempt to hook up a healthy nerve to her new muscle.
If she’s lucky, a couple of months after surgery, 7-year-old Chelsey Thomas of Palmdale may finally manage her first grin.
“She can’t wait,” said Chelsey’s mother, Lori, who has fought against the rare neurological condition known as Moebius syndrome that has afflicted her daughter since birth, paralyzing her facial muscles.
“She asked me every day: ‘When can I have my surgery?’ ”
Chelsey’s story made national headlines, newscasts and morning talk shows in August when the Thomases’ insurance carrier, Kaiser Permanente, agreed to cover the cost of the estimated $70,000, two-part surgery that might give her the ability to smile.
Moebius syndrome affects fewer than 1,000 people in the United States, experts have said.
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