Vanuatu teen undergoes life-transforming facial surgery at the Queensland Children’s Hospital

Vanuatu teen Jelsian Sur no longer feels the need to bow her head after reconstructive facial surgery at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Jelsian Sur, 14, poses at the Queensland Children's Hospital. Her face is still swollen after a recent operation but she’s happy with the results. Picture: AAP Image/Claudia Baxter

TEARS drop from 14-year-old Jelsian Sur’s eyes as she talks about life growing up in Vanuatu with a large facial growth that took over more than half her face.

As a young child, her parents sent her to live with her grandparents on the remote island of Mere Lava, in the north of the Vanuatu archipelago, where she was stared at and made fun of so cruelly she became afraid of people.

TEENAGER’S ARM SAVED WITH A BONE TRANSPLANT FROM HER LEG

SURGEONS OPERATE ON PNG GIRL TO STRAIGHTEN HER BOWED LEGS

“The facial growth prevented me from doing anything a normal kid would do such as playing in the playground, walking on the street and many more things,” she said. “I want to be normal like every child my age. I want to be treated like any other kid.”

Vanuatu teen Jelsian Sur before reconstructive surgery at the Queensland Children's Hospital.

The growth not only affected her emotionally. She lost sight in her left eye and it caused her to regularly bleed from her mouth.

Doctors in Vanuatu were unable to help, her condition too complex for the Pacific nation’s medical services.

But the shy teenager is viewing the future more positively after a series of intricate surgeries at the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane to reconstruct her face, mostly paid for by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The hospital’s director of plastic and reconstructive surgery Yun Phua said Jelsian was born with what is medically known as a microcystic lymphatic malformation.

At birth, her mother thought her swollen face was “caused by the midwife’s finger”.

Vanuatu teen Jelsian Sur, 14, who has had a series of facial surgeries at the Queensland Children’s Hospital after being born with a microcystic lymphatic malformation, which resulted in her being stared at and made fun of. Picture: Claudia Baxter, AAP.

But it had actually resulted from an abnormality in the development of the lymphatic system in her face, resulting in the formation of cysts which grew larger as she grew, affecting her eyesight, facial muscles and appearance.

Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Colin Renfrew said the church began fundraising to bring Jelsian to Brisbane after her plight was discovered by members of Pacific Yacht Missionaries, who were regular visitors to the Vanuatu islands.

“Year after year, they saw this growth getting bigger and bigger,” Pastor Renfrew said.

Jelsian, who has stayed with Gold Coast couple Bill and Janette Bartlett while in Queensland, had two surgeries late last year to remove large areas of tissue and then reconstruct her upper mouth. She recently returned to Brisbane and had more surgery about three weeks ago, which included ophthalmologist Tim O’Sullivan reattaching muscles that allow her to open her left eyelid.

Queensland Children’s Hospital plastic and reconstructive surgeon with Vanuatu teen Jelsian Sur, who flew to Brisbane for life-transforming facial surgery. Picture: Claudia Baxter, AAP

“It’s too late to restore sight to the eye, but in terms of getting symmetry to her face, being able to see the eye is important,” Dr Phua said. “It’s important in terms of her overall appearance.”

Since last year’s operations, Jelsian has moved to the Vanuatu capital, Port Vila, to live with her aunt and go to school.

The teenager, who used to walk around with her head bowed, is facing the world much more confidently.

Asked how she felt about the surgery to transform her face, she had just one word: “Happy.”

Dr Phua said he would continue to monitor Jelsian, whose face is still swollen from her most recent surgery, through photos and Skype. He said she may require more surgery in coming years.