What: Geisinger team gives Ethiopian youngster a second chance

When: 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27

Where: Atrium Café, Hospital for Advanced Medicine, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pa.

Details: Geisinger Medical Center, with assistance from Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center, Manhattan, N.Y., has fit a prosthetic nose for a young Ethiopian boy who was injured in a hyena attack.

Story: It was nearly two years ago when then 6-year-old Sisay Shimeless wandered from his family's home in Kolu, Ethiopia, to go to the bathroom and was attacked by a hyena. The attack caused Sisay to lose his nose and nearly all of his upper lip and teeth.
Sisay came to Geisinger in February 2011 after being discovered in an Ethiopian hospital by Dr. Adam Waksor, an Ethiopian maxiofacial surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center, during an annual surgical mission trip.

While at Geisinger, Sisay has undergone multiple surgeries to prepare his face for a prosthetic nose that was built at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, N.Y.

Sisay now has a prosthetic nose that can be affixed to his face via a facial adhesive. Reconstructive surgeries also have given Sisay an upper lip that was destroyed during the hyena attack.



Contact: If you are interested in attending this post-surgical meet-and-greet with Sisay, his father and the surgeons involved in Sisay’s care, please contact Amanda O’Rourke at 570-214-9091 or akorourke@geisinger.edu.