Hungarian girl who battled cancer, infection getting face restored thanks to local doctor

Aliz Cservenak can drink with a straw.

The happy 9-year-old can whistle, she said in Hungarian, translated by her older sister, Lili Misúr.

And food and drinks don’t come out of her nose anymore.

That's all thanks to two surgeries — with more to come — by Dr. Kongkrit Chaiyasate, a plastic surgeon at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, the new name for Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.

“She loves him,” Misúr said of the affection Aliz feels for the U.S. doctor who agreed to restore some of her facial features after a severe infection set in while she was hospitalized for chemotherapy battling cancer in her native Hungary.

Surgery was 'high risk' and 'could be high failure'

The feeling is mutual. It took only 30 minutes for Chaiyasate to agree to see the family when it reached out for help via email after doctors in Hungary said they would perform plastic surgery only on someone age 18 or older.

“It’s high risk. There could be high failure,” Chaiyasate said. “Risk by the doctor and the family, but I think they have hope and courage.”

And love.

Love clearly seen Tuesday when Aliz’s mother, Mariann Dekany, and her sister held her tiny hands talking about their journey. And love by the doctor, who bent down to get a big hug from his smiling, beloved young patient, who has undergone two surgeries in two months.

Aliz spent more than half her life in a hospital in Hungary battling cancer. During an extended stay in a hospital there, she contracted a severe infection called mucormycosis. It caused disintegration of the bones in her nose and face. As a result, she lost her nose, part of her palate and upper jaw.

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Infection serious, but rare

The fungal infection is serious, but rare, and is caused by a group of molds caused mucormycetes, which live throughout the environment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It mainly affects people who have health problems, including cancer, or take medications that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness, according to the CDC.

The CDC said the infection most commonly affects the sinuses or lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air, but it can also occur on the skin after a cut, burn or other type of skin injury. On its website, it lists five different kinds of mucormycosis, with different types of symptoms depending on the type of infection.

The CDC said it’s difficult to determine the exact number of cases because no national surveillance exists in the U.S. A review of published cases found an overall all-cause mortality rate of 54%, but that rate varied depending on the patient's underlying condition, type of fungus and body site affected.

The CDC said that in a health-care setting, it can be difficult to determine whether the infection is health care-associated or whether it was acquired somewhere else. Sources in health care-associated mucormycosis outbreaks include adhesive bandages, wooden tongue depressors, hospital linens, negative pressure rooms, water leaks, poor air filtration, nonsterile medical devices and building construction, according to the CDC.

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The first blow: cancer

In 2017, Aliz, then 4, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood and bone marrow cancer that affects white blood cells. She underwent chemotherapy for a year.

The cancer returned in 2019. Aliz underwent more aggressive chemotherapy.

Her immune system was compromised, and she contracted the fungal infection in her nose, which spread to her brain, lungs and hard palate, the bony part of the palate that forms the roof of the mouth.

Aliz recovered from the infection in 10 months and was able to successfully receive a bone marrow transplant, her mother said she told local hospital representatives. But the girl’s nose and hard palate died from the infection and had to be removed.

Her parents wanted to have her face restored in Hungary, but numerous doctors there said she had to be at least 18 for facial reconstruction surgery.

The family took to the internet and found Chaiyasate, emailed him and had a response within 30 minutes with the answer they were hoping for. He could help them in the U.S.

'We're gonna help her'

He recalled Tuesday that the email was “quite heartbreaking. We’re gonna help her.”

He met with the family and performed one surgery Oct. 6 and another Nov. 4. In the microsurgeries, healthy tissue from other areas of Aliz’s body, including each of her forearms, was taken and transferred to her lip and nose as part of the reconstruction.

Chaiyasate said another surgery is planned in December. Aliz and her family will return to Hungary for Christmas, then come back in January for more procedures, possibly being done by summer, the doctor said. Other procedures may be needed in the future as she grows.

Aliz is in second grade and is studying and doing homework while she is staying in metro Detroit. But she and her family also have taken in some of the area’s attractions, including the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit RiverWalk, where they could see Canada across the Detroit River.

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Aliz, whose cancer is in remission, is one of about 15 patients Chaiyasate has helped through the Beaumont Foundation, which he said has helped pay for medical fees for patients.

He said while some doctors may not do these procedures at such a young age, he believes the discrimination a child faces “scars forever.”

Aliz’s family said they already saw that in Hungary, with one child telling their daughter that she was "so ugly." That’s why they are deeply grateful for the opportunity Chaiyasate is providing their daughter.

“It’s really like a miracle to us,” Misúr said, translating for her family, adding that Aliz is "a hero" to her.

“We want to give her a life that she deserves," she said. "We want to give her a happy and healthy life.”

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hungarian girl, 9, smiles again with help from metro Detroit doctor