Nadia Ilse, 14, underwent plastic surgery to correct her “elephant ears”
A Georgia teen bullied for her “elephant ears” underwent $40,000 worth of plastic surgery, including an otoplasty, reduction rhinoplasty and mentoplasty, at no cost thanks to the Little Baby Face Foundation.
The bullied teen, Nadia Ilse, begged her mother beginning at the age of 10 for plastic surgery to pin her ears back in order to ward off taunts from peers. Now 14, Ilse’s wish was recently granted by the Little Baby Face Foundation, a charity that provides free corrective surgery to children born with facial deformities.
Ilse told CNN that the taunts of her peers, including names such as “Dumbo,” drove her to become antisocial. The teen told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta that the taunting “hurt so much.”
The teen and her mother were brought from their home in Georgia to New York City by the charity. In addition to the otoplasty, pinning the ears back, the charity’s founder, Dr. Thomas Romo, III. also performed reduction rhinoplasty, reducing the size of the nose, and mentoplasty, altering the chin, an estimated cost of $40,000.
“I look beautiful, this is exactly what I wanted, I love it,” Ilse said.
The teen will begin counseling as part of her treatment to overcome the psychological distress bullying has caused her. Little Baby Face Foundation board member Don Moriarity told MailOnline that the teen’s positive outlook illustrates the charity’s mission.
“We like to say that Baby Face transforms the lives of these children and gives them newfound confidence,” Moriarity said.
Ilse was asked by Dr. Gupta what advice she would give to parents. The teen responded, “Give your children a lot of love and affection and tell them that they’re beautiful every single day.”
