US News

LI miracle for shot Afghan kid

A brave Afghan girl shot by the Taliban underwent a miracle operation yesterday at a Long Island hospital that will allow the 6-year-old to breathe normally and restore her bullet-ravaged face.

“She came through with flying colors — she’s great,’’ said Elissa Montanti, of the Global Medical Relief Fund, which brought little Marizeh to the United States for surgery at South Nassau Community Hospital in Oceanside.

The adorable girl, whose last name is being withheld to protect relatives still in Afghanistan, lost her right eye months ago in an ambush that killed her father and 3-year-old brother.

In a two-hour operation, plastic surgeon Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh, who works with the Mission Relief charity, removed extensive scar tissue clogging her nasal passages, then relined the passages with skin from inside her ears. She also received a permanent prosthetic eye.

“It’s close to my heart as a physician and a father of two girls,’’ Alizadeh said.