Local physicians help victims of domestic violence smile again

At 43 years old, Cathy Gibson says she feels like she's 17. She's been taking pictures of herself with her camera phone, amazed at how different she looks.

Gone is the nose that was smashed in like an accordion by her abusive ex-husband, replaced instead with a straightened, more feminine one that she can better breathe through. Her left cheek, sunken in from more abuse, was rebuilt and now matches the other side of her face.

Standing in a room at Northwest Face in Kirkland, Gibson admires her face in a hand-held mirror. Just five days out from her two surgeries, her nose is still a bit swollen and her cheek is slightly puffy. But Gibson can't stop smiling.

Her reconstructed face was courtesy of the center, which works with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Cosmetic and Reconstructive Support Program. Together they offer free aesthetic procedures that many hospitals may not deem medically necessary, but are emotionally necessary to the patient, said Dr. Ludwig Allegra, an otolaryngologist who reconstructed Gibson's nose. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery sponsors the program.

"We're repairing damage that may not be possible financially, but is a bad reminder from a bad situation," Allegra said. "This goes a long way to easing that and in our own small way we can help do that."

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence refers patients to the center from around the state -- Allegra wasn't sure how many, but he said they have never turned away a referral. They do procedures such as tattoo removals, scar resurfacing and facial reconstructions.

Gibson's case was the first time Allegra and his partner, Dr. Julie Voss, worked to help the same patient. Voss, a dermatologist, repaired Gibson's cheek and will give her a series of facial treatments over the next few months to remove broken capillary damage from the repeated trauma to her face.

		Karen Ducey / P-I
	Dr. Julie Voss injects Gibson for facial reconstruction. Gibson's face was deformed by beatings from her husband.

A former husband inflicted the severe damage, Gibson said. Throughout their relationship, she fled to a half-dozen shelters; each time her husband found her and persuaded her to come back. The final time she went to a domestic violence shelter, she stayed away long enough to get a job and her own apartment. During that time, the man was arrested on suspicion of abusing another woman. He's been in jail for six years after being sentenced to more than 25 years for the abuse, Gibson said.

Originally from Texas, Gibson hitchhiked her way West after leaving her ex-husband, eventually ending up last year in Southwest Washington at a Christian ministry for recovering addicts and abuse victims. She worked to earn her keep in the communal living space, and considers the people she lives with her family.

A trip to the library and a search for plastic surgeons led her to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Now Gibson's face will be hers again. "It will help me forget about (the abuse) instead of dwelling on it," she said. "I have a lot of haunting memories from the past. Now I'm giggling about how I look."

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN WASHINGTON