Just two and half months after a Briarwood teen underwent a rare facial surgery, she and the team at Northwell Health celebrated a successful procedure for a “one-in-a-million” condition and her newfound confidence on World Birth Defects Day.
The hospital held a press conference on Wednesday, March 3, for 19-year-old student Taina Contreras who was born with the rare Tessier #4 craniofacial cleft, which caused congenital facial abnormalities. For the last two decades, she received more than 21 surgeries to correct issues in her face and eye formation.
The latest surgery at Northwell happened on Dec. 22, 2020, and was performed by hospital plastic surgeon and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery Dr. James Bradley. During the procedure, the doctor reshaped Contreras’ nose and corrected prominent scarring on her upper lip.
“Taina was born with the very rare Tessier #4 craniofacial cleft, which is so rare that we believe it occurs in only one of a million births. There are 14 rare craniofacial clefts that occur every 1 in 1,000, births, but in Taina’s case, the incidence of a bilateral #4 is so much more unusual,” said Dr. Bradley.
Contreras’ first surgery was performed when she was 5 months old to correct an open cleft lip and since then, the teen has sometimes endured two to three surgeries per year on her eyelids, lips and nose. According to the hospital, many of the surgeries were painful and required months of recovery but failed to permanently correct the problems.
The teen and her mother Eva Contreras learned of the doctor’s work with facial differences and reached out to the hospital for help. She was experiencing eye dryness and discomfort due to the fact that she was born without tear ducts as well as blurry vision and other issues caused by her eye positioning.
“[The surgery] was done to correct not only her functional problems and improve her appearance, but to give her a feeling of normalcy,” said Dr. Bradley. “She’s a very brave and sensitive young lady, and our goal is to make her feel as comfortable as possible as she pursues every activity in her life.”
At the reunion with Dr. Bradley, Contreras recalled “frequent episodes of cruelty and violence” she experienced due to judgement from other people.
“I’m speaking out because I hope that no one else would ever have to endure what I had to go through because of my appearance,” said Contreras. “For me, it was important not to give up and to strive for a normal life.”
Post-recovery, Jamie Mazzei, the co-owner of popular Long Island salon Nubest, surprised the teen with a gift basket of high-end products for her hair and makeup for her eyes and face.
“When we heard about Taina, we decided that we had to reward her courage and her resiliency with some beautiful products,” said Mazzei. “I hope she enjoys them, and that these items make her feel as beautiful on the outside as we know she is on the inside.”
At the event, the teen shared an important message that “facial deformities do not make us defective.”
“We may have scars on our faces, but under all that, we’re just the same as everyone else,” said Contreras. “We want to be loved and respected, just like the rest of the world.”
The Briarwood teen recently, received a scholarship to NYU where she is studying electrical engineering.
Watch footage from the full press conference below.
