Hopkinton plastic surgeon gives patients hope

CANTON- Unlike most children who would do anything to fit in, Liam Boesel really wanted glasses.

"I thought they looked really cool," said Boesel, now 23, of Canton. "I pretended I didn’t see the (chalk)board in school."

The trick almost worked. The fifth grader at St. John the Evangelist School was brought to an eye doctor, who confirmed the boy had perfect vision.

But something was off. The optometrist noticed Boesel’s left eye appeared slumped. After a CAT scan and biweekly visits to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, doctors said Boesel wouldn’t start sixth grade with his classmates.

The boy needed surgery to remove a benign tumor growing in his eye socket and pressing against his sinus cavity.

"It explained the migraines I was getting," Boesel said. "They were so bad that I would pass out and throw up all the time."

After eight hours of surgery, doctors had removed the non-cancerous growth by slicing open the 12 year old’s scalp from ear to ear.

The scar that remained resembled a girl’s headband, thickening and becoming more pronounced as Boesel grew.

"I always wore hats," he said. "It was my trademark and nobody knew why."

But after years of insecurity, the St. Anslem college graduate got his "extreme makeover" last month.

And just like on the plastic surgery-themed television show on ABC, Boesel’s doctor took him as a pro bono case and waved the $1,500 cost of surgery.

"We felt it was the right thing to do," said Dr. Min Ahn in his Westborough office. "It was certainly something that resulted from a medical problem and wasn’t anything that was his fault."

Although Boesel still had to pay about $700 in hospital fees, he said at his final check-up last week it was worth every penny if he never again would worry about the stares he used to get at job interviews, pool parties and dates.

"I viewed it as more reconstructive," said Boesel, his hair now trimmed uncharacteristically short. "It wasn’t like I was changing something I was born with."

After the check-up, Ahn, 38, of Hopkinton, said he was happy to see the once quarter-inch thick scar now blend seamlessly into Boesel’s hairline.

"He looks like the Liam he’s supposed to be at 23," said Ahn, a graduate of George Washington University’s medical school who has been practicing for seven years.

"In plastic surgery these days, a lot of people think it’s all botox, liposuction and things on a superficial level," Ahn said. "We did address something skin deep, but we also addressed something deeper."

The tumor was an ossifying fibroma, a bone tumor that is often seen in adults’ jaws or children’s legs. Its cause is unknown.

Because Boesel’s case was unique, Ahn said the surgery to correct his remaining scar tissue was unusual as well.

To align the scar with Boesel’s hairline, a surgical team first stretched skin from his forehead and the top of his skull to move the scar back.

Because hair cannot normally grow through scar tissue, Ahn said he then used an incision normally reserved for brow lifts or hair transplants to allow underlying hair on Boesel’s scalp to grow through the scar.

"Even though it looks pretty straightforward, it was actually fairly technically challenging," Ahn said.

After seeing Ahn’s work on a friend who had smashed his nose half a dozen times, "When he came in here for his first consultation, he was a little bit shy," Ahn said. "He feels more comfortable in his own skin now."

With a smile, Boesel said he hasn’t worn his trademark Notre Dame hat since the days after his surgery.

"I feel great. It’s really cool. I can do little things that don’t seem big to people," he said. "I can get out of the shower, just gel my hair and not worry about it."

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