6-Year-Old Afghan Gunshot Victim Undergoes Successful Surgery

A 6-year-old Afghani girl successfully underwent surgery Friday afternoon at South Nassau Communities Hospital to help her breathe normally after she was shot in the face more than one year ago by Taliban insurgents.

The girl, Marzieh, underwent two hours of surgery and was "resting comfortably" in the hospital, said Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh, Marzieh's surgeon.

Marzieh will remain in the hospital overnight Friday and is expected to be released Saturday, Alizadeh said.

"Everything went beautifully," said Alizadeh, who is a founder of Mission Restore, an organization that aids children injured in war-torn countries. Alizadeh, who is also president of the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group in Garden City, performed the surgery without charge, as he has with others in the recent past.

Alizadeh said surgeons repaired tissue in her nose that had been scarred by bullets from Taliban rifles. "Her nose was completely scared," Alizadeh said.

The doctor continued by saying doctors had grafted skin from both of Marzieh's ears to cover the scaring in her nose. He said doctors also smoothed out a wound on her left check that had been damaged by a bullet.

Marzieh was shot after she was forced to witness the execution of her father and her 3-year-old brother in their village in Afghanistan. The village has no running water or electricity.

Marzieh was brought to the United States through the efforts of the Global Medical Relief Fund of Staten Island. Her last name and hometown in Afghanistan are being withheld for security reasons.