ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA
SOURCE: CHRISTOPHER McDOUGALL ASSOCIATED PRESS
A PHILADELPHIA SURGEON is correcting 2-year-old Abys DeJesus' werewolf-like features, caused by a rare disorder.
A little girl with a furry, werewolf-like face that scares other children began a surgical makeover Tuesday to save her from deadly cancer and a short, unhappy life.
A Philadelphia pediatric surgeon believes his procedure can rid 2-year-old Abys DeJesus of the cancer-prone cells and hairy disfigurement once known as ``human werewolf syndrome'' and leave her virtually unscarred.
``Are you scared?'' Cindly DeJesus asked her daughter moments before she underwent surgery. The girl, clutching a Barney doll, nodded slowly.
``Do you want to do it?'' she was asked. This time, she nodded emphatically.
Abys was born in Puerto Rico with hairy congenital nevus, a rare condition that causes dense hair to sprout between her eyes, over her nose and over more than half her face, puckering one eye. Twenty-three smaller patches mark her body.
It is similar in appearance but apparently unrelated to the ``werewolf gene,'' a disorder that strikes only men in a single Mexican family and makes them so hairy some have joined the circus as ``werewolves.''
Neither Abys' 11-month-old sister, Luisette, nor her newborn brother, Luis, is afflicted, nor is anyone else in her family.
Abys often prompts screams from children and curious stares from adults. In the past, people like Abys would be outcasts, said Dr. Adrian Lo of Philadelphia's St. Christopher's Hospital.
``From the name of the condition alone, you can imagine what life was like with this disfigurement,'' Lo said.
On Tuesday, Lo inserted five balloon-like implants beneath the skin on Abys' neck, nape, cheek and forehead. Over the next two months, he will gradually pump them full of saline solution, stretching the skin a bit at a time.
After two months, the implants will be removed, the hairy portion of her skin will be cut away and the extended flesh stitched over the opening. The result is expected to be much smoother and more natural than a skin graft, which can leave puckers and valleys.
While he has used the stretch-technique before, this is the first time Lo has tried it on a facial nevus, where the risks of further disfigurement are greater.
After nearly four hours of surgery, Lo pronounced himself ``extremely pleased'' with the first day's outcome.
``Abys is on the way to an entirely new appearance,'' he said.
The girl will spend the night in the hospital and then return to the family's temporary home in North Philadelphia. In a week, she will return to the hospital for the first of a series of saline injections.
Doctors said that they were not sure how much the operation would cost but that Medicaid would cover it.
DeJesus and Abys' father, Luis Perez, raised the money for the trip to the United States from family and friends. Doctors in Puerto Rico said they did not have the expertise to help Abys, DeJesus said.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Abys' appearance draws screams from children andby CNBstares from adults. But her doctor says she now is "on the way to an
entirely new appearance.'' color.