7-Month-Old Baby Gets a New Face
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When 21-year-old Katie Barbour of Copperas Cove, Texas learned her unborn baby had a bilateral cleft lip and a unilateral cleft palate, doctors also told her she was carrying a girl.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
But baby John Tre was actually a boy. "It didn't matter to me what he looked like," Barbour said. "He's my baby." J.T., as his family calls him, was also born blind due to the deformity.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
There are three reasons babies are born this way, said Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing health editor of FOXNews.com. "The most common reason is multi-factorial, meaning its environmental and we just don't know. The second reason is genetics and the third is certain medications, taken by the mother during pregnancy, can cause it." Barbour said doctors don't know what caused J.T.'s face to be deformed.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
That's where Dr. Sacha Obaid of North Texas Plastic Surgery came in. (www.northtexasplasticsurgery.com) He performed the 6 1/2 hour surgery on May 12 that began rebuilding J.T.'s face.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
J.T. was missing bones in his face and jaw.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
Next month, Obaid will operate on J.T. again. He will concentrate on the baby's eyes, but unfortunately will not be able to restore J.T.'s sight. He will have to learn Braille, Barbour said.
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
"I'm not going to treat him any differently," Barbour said. "He doesn't have any IQ problems, just a physical deformity."
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
North Texas Plastic Surgery -
Barbour called her son a "happy baby."
Courtesy of Katie Barbour -
Today, J.T. is 8-months-old, and Barbour said her son is healing fine. He cannot eat baby food yet, but that will come with time.
Courtesy of Katie Barbour
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