Raccoon-mauled girl's surgery a success

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WOOD) - A West Michigan girl, whose face sustained serious damage during a raccoon attack when she was 3 months old, has begun the process to recovery.

Charlotte Ponce, now 10, was attacked when her biological parents' pet raccoon crawled into her crib and tore away portions of her face in 2003.

Her parents lost custody and her great-aunt and -uncle, Sharon and Tim Ponce, adopted Charlotte and her brother.

Charlotte's family traveled from Spring Lake to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak after seeing news reports on what a top plastic surgeon there had done for a Honduran boy with a deformed nose.

Work to restore portions of Charlotte's face, including her nose, started last week. Specialists grafted skin and bone from various part of Charlotte's body to essentially rebuild her face.

Charlotte admitted missing her best friend while she was in the hospital. 

"Hey, Elena," she said as she looked into a 24 Hour News 8 camera. "I'm doing really fine."

But it was hard to tell Wednesday during a post-surgery news conference at Beaumont Hospital if Charlotte really wanted to go home.

"I get a lot of attention," she said.

Last week's surgery was only the start of the rebuilding process. One of the final steps will be using additional skin grafts to cover the nose and ear she lost.

But the final layer of skin can't come from just any place on Charlotte's body. Doctors will take the grafts from places close to the wounds so the skin will match.

It's just one of the intricacies of the work to restore Charlotte's face.

"Plastic surgery is a battle between blood supply and beauty," said Dr. Kongkrit Chaiyasate, Charlotte's plastic surgeon.

Chaiyasate told 24 Hour News that of all the reconstructive surgeries he has performed, this was one of the biggest challenges. On a scale of one to 10, he said the process ranks an 11 or 12.

He said the first operation was the one that determined whether the others would be successful.

"The skin here is just dressing -- biologic dressing. Inside the nose is nice and pink, so I feel really good to see that. It's good," said Dr. Chaiyasate.

He said starting the surgeries at age 10 was just right. Charlotte's physical appearance has reached a point where, for the most part, her facial structure is set.

Even though her face will change as she grows older, there was concern that waiting longer could affect her mental well-being in the future.

"When the social isolation kicks in, and teasing issue, and all the self-image. That to me is higher impact than a little revision she might have to require when she's older," said Chaiyasate.

Those revisions will include injections of fat into portions of her face all the way into adulthood.

While Charlotte has a long journey ahead, the first steps appeared to be a big success both physically and emotionally.

"I think it makes her feel like she's not alone in this anymore," said Sharon Ponce. "That people really do care about this little girl from out in the boonies."

Charlotte will be back home in a few days.

"I can't ride my bike anymore until this heals because my mom and dad are afraid I could like fall from my bike and get hurt," she said.

She will go back to Beaumont Hospital in another six to eight weeks for the second round of surgeries.

Insurance is covering the medical expenses, but the family has received an outpouring of support from the community to cover travel and other costs.

Someone from West Michigan, who wishes to remain anonymous, flew the family to the Detroit area for the surgery. A spaghetti dinner raised $8,000. Sharon Ponce said former U.S. Ambassador to Italy Peter Secchia set up a college fund for Charlotte.

Tim Ponce said Charlotte has one more wish: To go to Disney World.

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