Bosnian woman injured in blast set for surgery by hometown doctor

Dr Zoran Potparic to perform plastic surgery on Vildana Briga

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ A Bosnian woman injured by an explosion when she was 11 years old will undergo plastic surgery at the Broward Health Medical Center by a physician from her same hometown.

"The bomb came and exploded just in front of the house," said Vildana Briga. "My baby brother was killed along with my grandmother, and I was severely injured."

The explosion left Briga with an open brain injury. She underwent more than 20 surgeries in Sarajevo and France, which patched the exposed area but left her with a forehead deformity.

A mutual friend put her in touch with Dr. Zoran Potparic, who was in the U.S. for a medical conference when the Bosnian War began. She and his wife were never able to return.

"Each surgery had some results. Some of them were better, some of them weren't, and this is why I'm trying to do something now with Dr. Potparic and hopefully he will help me," said Briga.

"She's going to have more symmetric face and symmetric orbit," said Potparic.

"I'm sure it won't be ideal -- it cannot be ideal because I have scars and they will stay -- but I think, I'm expecting to make it better looking," she said.

Briga will undergo surgery Tuesday. A soft tissue follow-up surgery is expected in June.