Girl mauled by raccoon completes third major surgery

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) - The young girl who captured our hearts when she started a series of operations in August after being mauled by a pet raccoon completed her third major surgery on Friday.

Surrounded by stuffed animals, 10-year-old Charlotte Ponce was snuggled up and still sleeping in a colorful quilt on the morning of her surgery. Her family remains positive of her progress.

Charlotte was just 3-months-old when a pet raccoon attacked her, causing severe damage to her face. In the attack, the West Michigan girl lost her nose, one ear and part of her lip.

The Action News Team caught up with Charlotte in August when she had her first reconstruction surgery for her nose. She has undergone the facial reconstructive surgeries at Beaumont Children’s Hospital in Royal Oak.

Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Kongkrit Chaiyasate, says she’ll probably have five to six major surgeries to finish the reconstruction.

He says this third nose procedure was about tip definition.

“If you look at Charlotte today you can see her tip is a little round and boxy. So, what we’re going to do today, we’re going to lift the flap up and thin it, sculpture it,” said Dr. Chaiyasate
before the surgery.

Dr. Chaiyasate also took skin from her lower lip to create her upper lip. She won’t be able to open her mouth for two weeks.

“It’ll be rough for a couple weeks, but this will all be worth it, you know, in the end,” said Charlotte's adoptive mother Sharon Ponce.

The surgery lasted more than 4 hours on Friday -- about an hour-and-a-half longer than the doctor thought it would.  But he says her nose looks good, and Charlotte is doing well.

Dr. Chaiyasate said Charlotte will have another surgery in about two weeks, and then another one two weeks later.