Homeless Face-Eating Victim In Line For Over $100,000 Reconstructive Surgery Paid For By The County
May 30 2012, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
By Debbie Emery - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter
Ronald Poppo remains in critical condition and barely recognizable recovering from the horrific injuries he endured when a face-eating attacker ripped off his flesh, and Breaking Celebrity News has learned that the local county will be paying for his mammoth medical costs.
“It could easily cost $100,000 to $200,000 for the reconstructive surgeries that he will need to get his face back,” Miami, Florida-based plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer of Bal Harbour Plastic Surgery told Breaking Celebrity News in an exclusive interview.
As previously reported, Rudy Eugene, 31, was found sprawled naked on the 65-year-old homeless man eating his face in a gruesome Silence of the Lambs style rampage as traffic rolled by on Miami’s busy MacArthur Causeway.
Eugene was shot dead by police at the scene and Poppo is currently being treated at the Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, while hospital staff have so far unsuccessfully attempted to contact his family.
While the graphic nature of his injuries are certainly unique, Dr. Salzhauer explained that he has dealt with many facial reconstructions before, usually when someone has been shot in the face with a gun or veterans returning back from war.
“Those injuries usually involve some bony damage, but the fact that Eugene chewed off his skin is interesting as it is less damage to the bone but it is still very extensive,” he explained.
“It looks like his eyes are gone – or at least one is totally missing - so the orbits need to be reconstructed by an ophthalmologist. The most challenging aspect of the surgery will be his nose, which seems to also have been eaten off.”
Dr. Salzhauer has not been approached to perform any surgery on Poppo as of now, but revealed that if he is he will recommend transplanting forearm skin onto his nose (instead of from the forehead, as that too was eaten). “I would then reattach it to the arteries and veins on the face.”
If he requires more extensive reconstructive surgery, Poppo might even be eligible for a full face transplant if he is healthy enough to survive it, explained the doctor. “It’s very exciting and