Two-year-old Branyelli Silvestri from the Domican Republic has plenty to smile about these days. Born with a disfiguring cleft palate, her family had resigned themselves to a life of despair for the unusually bright child -- until Mark Shikowitz, MD, associate chairman of otolaryngology and communicative disorders at LIJ Medical Center, came upon her during a recent humanitarian mission to her country. Realizing that Branyelli's case was too complex to be handled in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Shikowitz spent several months working with local officials to bring Branyelli to Schneider Children's Hospital (SCH) in New Hyde Park for what would be a series of life-altering surgeries. Joining Branyelli and Dr. Shikowitz, right, at a recent news conference at SCH were her mother Carmen and Rachel Rituolo, MD, a plastic surgeon who worked with Dr. Shikowitz to help restore Branyelli's natural beauty.
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