MIAMI – A woman shot in the face during a robbery underwent successful surgery on Wednesday.
Evelin Matamoros was shot as she left Cafe Ruyi restaurant in Miami on Jan. 24, say police. X-rays released Tuesday showed a bullet lodged in her neck.
Doctors placed a metallic plate in her jaw during a seven hour surgery Wednesday. They also removed the bullet without complications.
Dr. Gabriel Ruiz, clinical instructor of surgery at Ryder Trauma Center treated Matamoros, 36, when she arrived at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He said the bullet glanced off her cheek bone, traveled through her mouth, fractured her lower jaw, and then lodged itself in her neck. The bullet even flipped one of her teeth upside down.
Ruiz said Matamoros stayed calm throughout the ordeal and helped detectives identify the shooting suspect from a lineup. Police arrested 20-year-old Kamiah Lanier that night, charging him with one count of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of attempted murder, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of use of firearm during the commission of a felony.
Doctors say Matamoros will likely need three or four surgeries, but they expect her to make a full recovery. They added that her recovery could last a year.