Mexico's IMSS Rebuilds Face of Motorcycle Accident Victim in Veracruz

A 24‑year‑old woman, Katia Francelyne Mendoza Leandro, suffered severe facial injuries, including total loss of nasal tissue, after a motorcycle crash near Martínez de la Torre, Veracruz. She was admitted to the Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad (UMAE) Hospital de Especialidades No. 14 of the IMSS Center in Veracruz Norte, where a multidisciplinary team from Trauma, Otolaryngology, Neurology and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery treated her.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrés Torres Zamudio performed a complex rotation‑flap procedure, transplanting healthy tissue with its own blood supply to restore roughly 40 % of her facial skin and fully reconstruct the nose. The surgery was deemed successful; Katia is now able to breathe through her nose and is recovering both functionally and aesthetically. She expressed gratitude, calling the surgeon “a hero,” while her mother praised the medical staff as “angels" for their coordinated care.