Surgery Helps Woman With Self-Esteem

Carol Guscott’s face is emerging as she continues to undergo surgery at a Century City hospital.

The woman was disfigured when assailants poured battery acid on her face in Jamaica three years ago. She has been staying in a Fullerton apartment, paid for by a community organization.

She recently underwent the second of several major reconstructive operations that plastic surgeons say will restore her face.

About nine months ago, Drs. Brian Kinney and Garry Brody performed the first surgery for free. They removed the top skin layer of Guscott’s face and grafted skin from her waist and parts of her neck. The latest surgery included work on her nose, her upper lip and the area around her eyes.

“We’re just fine-tuning now,” Kinney said.

Guscott said the surgeries are helping her regain the self-esteem she lost when she was attacked. People from all over the world have sent her letters of encouragement and offered to help her, she said.

“The response has been unbelievable,” she said.

Guscott’s doctors said the process to reconstruct her face may take several more years.

To help her, donations are being accepted at the Fullerton Lions Club.