Kassy before her first reconstructive surgery
Kassy is brand new to Fresh Start and just turned 3 years old on May 15th. Kassy was born in Tijuana with a congenital hairy nevus on her arm – a type of mole that is present at birth. Unlike regular moles, which often don’t start to appear until a child is a toddler or even older, hairy nevi are present at birth and although most hairy nevi are benign they can occasionally turn into malignant melanoma.
Kassy’s hairy nevus is large, and although she is still just a toddler, Kassy could face teasing, low self-esteem, and the possibility of the nevus becoming malignant as she develops. Kassy’s mother and father could not afford the costly medical care to treat her nevus and were very grateful to find Fresh Start – their close proximity to San Diego also made it easy for Kassy to travel for pre- and post-operative appointments.
Kassy received her first reconstructive surgery during the May 2012 Surgery Weekend Cycle on May 19th, just four days after her 3rd birthday! During her reconstructive surgery, volunteer plastic surgeon Dr. Sal Pacella began the biopsies and tissue transfers necessary to reduce the appearance of Kassy’s nevus.
At Kassy’s post-operative appointment on May 20th she was doing great and she will continue to be seen by Dr. Pacella over the coming weeks to ensure that she is healthy and healing. Everyone here at Fresh Start is so excited to welcome Kassy as a new patient and watch her grow up and develop, not hampered by a physical deformity.
