Doctors at Royal Taruma Hospital, West Jakarta, operated Wednesday for the first time victim of domestic abuse Santi Sambodo, six years after being set on fire by her husband.
In 2003, Santi’s husband poured kerosene over her body and set her alight.
Police did not charge him due to lack of evidence.
Santi survived the burn but was disfigured. Her lip became conjoined to her neck. Her arms conjoined to the side of her body, she lost her breasts and she could not move her fingers.
Maya Satrini from the Social Workers’ Community Forum who flew Santi from Ambon to Jakarta and raised funds for the first plastic surgery operation said Wednesday that doctors had successfully operated on the 27-year-old.
“Praise the Lord, the operation went smoothly. The operation took seven hours,” she said.
Doctor Enrina Diah operated Santi to separate the contracture between Santi’s lips and neck and performed a skin graft, the replacement of healthy skin onto damaged skin.
The doctor also placed on a neck collar. Maya said that Santi was in a stable condition and would be in hospital for a week.
Santi needs at least five to seven more operations for full recovery.
Santi will need to recover for two weeks to a month before more surgery.
Maya said that Santi needed operations on her armpits, wrists and fingers, as well as scar tissue repair and contracture between the chest wall and breasts.
“If the recovery process of each operation takes two weeks to a month, then the series of operations will take a year. It depends on how fast Santi recovers,” she said.
Maya said that the cost of surgery would total more than Rp 100 million (US$10,000) without doctor fees. “But Dr. Enrina is operating Santi of no charge,” she said.
Maya said that she heard about Santi from Poriaman Sitanggang, who was a photographer for a book about vulnerable social groups, a couple of months ago.
“The help from friends enabled us to fly her from Ambon to Jakarta,” she said.
Maya said that after treatment, Santi would stay with her in her lodging. “We’re both alone, she’s from Ambon and I’m from West Kalimantan.”
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