Puerto Rico girl has surgery for hairy face .
PHILADELPHIA 1996-08-27
A two-year old Puerto Rican girl began surgical treatment on Tuesday for a rare condition that has left half of her face covered with a hairy , dark-brown patch of skin .
The girl , Abyss DeJesus , suffers from a " hairy nevus " on the right side of her face , a condition that has only been reported a few times in medical journals , the St. Christopher Children 's Hospital said .
In addition to social ostracism , the condition also carries a high risk of cancer .
It will be corrected by gradually expanding healthy skin with a surgical balloon , then transplanting that skin to the afflicted side of her face .
" She is doing well , " hospital spokeswoman Carol Norris said . "
The surgery is under way . "
Norris said Tuesday 's surgery involved placing five balloons in DeJesus 's forehead , shoulders and the back of her neck and partially filling them with a saline solution .
More saline solution will be inserted in 16 weekly treatments .
The girl , who was accompanied to Philadelphia by her parents , will need more surgery later to correct the condition on her chest , back and legs , the hospital said .