Girl undergoes facial surgery

BANDUNG: Thirteen-year-old Dini Setia Utami underwent her third round of facial reconstruction surgery at Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung on Wednesday to fix damage done to her face in a fire.

The girl's parents, Surachmat and Lilis Siti Maesaroh, watched the procedure on a television outside the operating theater.

Dini has lived with the burns since she was one year old, when a kerosene lamp in her house was knocked over and set fire to the building. She rarely attends school or leaves the house because of the injury.

Four plastic surgeons, led by Hari Siswa Soedjana, started the six-hour procedure at 8:30 a.m. Dini underwent similar procedures in April and June.

After the latest operation, she will undergo a six-month skin refinement process.

""I hope after the surgery the girl will no longer be ashamed to meet other people,"" Surachmat said. -- JP