A young Romanian woman who sustained severe face injuries in a car crash two years ago showed reporters a big smile yesterday as she prepared to return home after a year of reconstructive surgery in Taiwan.
The woman, identified only as Christina, had three stages of reconstruction work done at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s renowned cranial and facial surgery department, starting in April last year.
At a pre-departure press conference, Christina, who will turn 21 in May, expressed gratitude to the surgical team at the hospital.
“I’ve got my chin and teeth back. Not only can I now chew, but I’ve also stopped drooling,” she said in her newly learned Mandarin.
UNSUCCESSFUL SURGERY
After the accident in Romania that smashed her mouth and chin, Christina had two unsuccessful surgeries. Her family then turned to the Dallas, Texas-based World Craniofacial Foundation, which helped her get booked into Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
Lin Chih-hung (林志鴻), head of the surgical team, said Christina had suffered compound injuries involving the lower lip, chin and jaw.
In the first reconstructive procedure performed in April last year, the doctors rebuilt her chin using bone grafts from her lower leg.
In the second surgical procedure in October, they rebuilt her jaw in preparation for dental implants.
NEW TEETH
The third phase of surgery performed last month implanted teeth into her lower jaw and completed repair work to her chin and lower lip so that her mouth could close, Lin said.
Christina was discharged from the hospital, accompanied by her mother, two weeks after the surgical procedures were completed.
The entire reconstruction work cost NT$1.6 million (US$55,100), costs which were borne fully by the hospital. The full cost of accommodation for the patient and her mother during their three visits to Taiwan were covered by a Chang Gung employment fund.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as