The following material contains graphic images of an actual surgery that may be disturbing. Parents are advised that these images may not be suitable for young children.
The Doctors meet Sara, who battled cancer twice during her childhood and is now dealing with the aftereffects of battling the disease. When she was 14 and battling cancer for the second time, she received a bone marrow transplant from her brother, but then dealt with Graft vs. Host Disease, which develops when the bone marrow donor’s immune cells mistakenly attack the patient’s normal cells.
Sara also went into early menopause, due to the side effects of the radiation, and is now unable to have children. She also tells us she has a ruptured lung and enlargement of the heart due to her cancer and treatments.
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“I feel like I have the body of an 80-year-old,” she says, detailing how she underwent a hip replacement due to bone loss and also has cramping of the hands and tightening of her skin. Adding, “I’m so grateful for beating cancer, but I just feel like I’m not what I would have been. I don’t really feel womanly.”
She says she is unhappy with the size of her breasts and the shape of her face and nose. “I want to look pretty. I want to enjoy my body and love the skin I’m in,” she says. Sara wrote to plastic surgeons Dr. Andrew Ordon and his partner Dr. Ritu Chopra asking for his help with some of the effects the cancer treatments have taken on her body.
After meeting her and assessing her needs, Sara underwent a series of procedures to contour her face, reconstruct her nose, and get liposuction. The surgeons used her own fat to enhance her breasts, as she is not a candidate for breast implants due to having Graft vs. Host Disease. They also improved her facial symmetry with her fat.
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Joining The Doctors and debuting her transformation, she tells us, “I feel amazing. I want to say thank you… your work was amazing. I feel so confident.” Dr. Ordon explains that due to her having to take large doses of steroids, it drastically altered her appearance.
Sara’s mom Dana says the results of her daughter’s surgery are “beyond words” and “truly amazing.” “She has grown so much in these last few months,” she tells The Doctors. Sara is happy to tell The Doctors that her goal is to finish college and hopefully become a radiologist.
