Please Help Eugenia
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October, 2000

          Our daughter's name is Eugenia Bracco. She was born on December 12, 1994 with a problem on her face called "Unilateral Facial Tuberose Hemangioma". It was a vascular malformation involving the upper lip, cheek and running up to the right temporal region.

The description was in the past tense because as can be observed in the photographs, after many operations in the past five years, her malformation has been able to be reduced to half its original size,

Eugenia has been treated since her birth. For two years she was treated in Buenos Aires without positive results by "DR. POPENDICH", who saw her every 15 days or every month in his office, the visits cost between $ 120 and $ 200 each plus transportation from our town to the Capital. He also performed a treatment on her called "Interferon" in which she received two weekly shots for six months. The cost of this treatment was $ 5,000 without a favorable outcome for her problem.

When Eugenia was two years old a new-treatment was-indicated. With the same drug and at that time, along with the pediatrician, we decided to consult in the United States, as we had no hope in Argentina. Beginning in 1997 she has been seeing DR. BRUCE ACHAUER at the St. Joseph Hospital in the city of Orange, California.

DR. ACHAUER specializes in this pathology with children of a young age. We are able to see the positive results of his treatments in other children we've met in his waiting room office.

DR. ACHAUER started the treatment with LASER and KTP on her whole Hemangioma. Both treatments were repeated five times every four months with a cost of $ 5,000 each.

In 1999 they started with the surgical treatments. Three surgeries were performed resulting in great improvement, during the first operation she received two tissue expanders, one in the forehead another one in the cheek and her upper lip was reduced. She was injected with 15cc of solution in those expanders for a month so that the skin could be cultivated. The second operation was carried out after the doctor considered she had sufficient amount of skin. During the second operation a large part of the malformation was removed and grafted with the cultivated skin. A third operation was done to remove the nose Hemangioma and covered with skin from both her groin areas. This treatment and our stay cost us $38,000.

Another surgery was done this month for an expander to be able to cultivate the skin again. Her lip was reduced and her nose was formed with cartilage from the ear. These surgeries have a cost of $12,000.

In a few words, we have a long story that hasn't ended yet because there are still many more surgeries to be done before the Hemangioma is completely removed.

With nothing more to say, we send our best and thank you for any help you wish to give us for our daughter Eugenia.

Sincerely,

Carlos and Andrea Bracco

"Thank you, Eugenia"

The donations could be made on any "BANK OF AMERICA"

On the name of "EUGENIA BRACCO" Account # 21605-00558

Saturday 25  November  2000
Party/Dance on benefit to Eugenia Bracco in La Asociación Argentina de Los Angeles

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