PICTURES speak louder than words. Anyone who has been moved by the plight of Hannah Maxwell-Jones, the little girl from Teesside who was born with a disfiguring facial condition, will be amazed at these pictures which demonstrate the skill of Professor Milton Waner.

He's the American surgeon who says he is optimistic that he can help Hannah.

These before and after photographs supplied by Professor Waner, demonstrate how his pioneering surgical techniques have worked miracles with disfigured children from all over the world.

In the worst case (pictured top) - an Australian child whose face was almost obliterated by an eruption of out-of-control blood vessels - Prof Waner's team at the Arkansas Children's Hospital has been able to repair the damage.

It was these pictures, shown to parents Alison and Keith Maxwell-Jones when they first met Prof Waner in London last year, that hardened the Nunthorpe family's resolve to get Hannah to Little Rock, by any means possible.

Now the family are hoping the South African-born surgeon - who they found via the Internet - will repeat his success with Hannah when he operates on her later this year.

Hannah, now two, was born with a facial blemish which rapidly grew into a compound haemangioma, an angry explosion of tangled blood vessels which have grossly distorted her face, mouth and right eye.

The prospect of helping Hannah prompted readers of The Northern Echo to reach deeply into their pockets to raise more than £24,000 to pay for the multiple 9,000-mile round trips, plus accommodation, Hannah's family will have to make.

Prof Waner is cautious about predicting outcomes of treatment but, in Hannah's case, he is "optimistic" that he can dramatically improve her appearance.

"Hannah does have a very difficult facial lesion but they do get a lot worse," says Prof Waner, who has a picture gallery of before and after shots.

"We have been successful with a number of children, in that many of these kids have grown up without knowing they ever had a problem - which is the way it should be," he adds.

The surgeon's approach is based on traditional plastic surgery but his team combines conventional technique with lasers and a "hot-knife" which cauterises as it cuts, reducing the risk of excessive bleeding.

"We do use some conventional plastic surgery techniques but they have been modified to suit haemangiomas," says Prof Waner, speaking to The Northern Echo, before beginning a busy day in an operating theatre more than 4,000 miles away.

"What we do use is certain types of equipment which is not always available everywhere and we use a combination of techniques which have evolved through our experience."

Prof Waner hopes that British hospitals will one day adopt his approach to vascular lesions, which involves removing some tissue and using different lasers to make the rest of the tissue appears normal.

He says: "The experience we have accumulated in this unit reflects the fact that we have treated a large number of children.

"One of the advantages of being in such a large country is that I've been able to specialise in this area and develop my work," says Prof Waner, who trained as a doctor at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, before going on to work in Australia and America.

"What we are doing, is, of course, no magic. Each of the procedures could be done in Britain but it is important to build up experience in order to get good results."

To see the photographic evidence of what can be done, you might suppose that Prof Waner's approach is universally accepted. But there is still a body of medical opinion that questions whether it is necessary to operate on facial lesions which they believe will eventually reduce in size of their own accord.

In an interview with US World News and Report, Ilona Frieden, a professor of dermatology and paediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco and director of the vascular anomalies clinic there, was quoted as saying: "He's coming from a position that is pretty radical."

Many doctors agree that vascular malformations such as abnormally-dilated clusters of veins, arteries or capillaries, should be treated, usually with injections of a solution to kill the blood vessels, because they will not go away.

But haemangiomas - the problem that afflicts Hannah - divide medical opinion. Some believe that benign neglect is the best way, allowing the tissue to settle down over a period of years.

But Prof Waner believes that as many as 60 per cent of haemangiomas will eventually require surgery and the psychological impact of such facial disfigurement is so immense that action should be taken sooner rather than later.

Even with those that disappear, there is likely to be disfiguration, scarring or loose, wrinkled skin. With children like Hannah, who has what is known as a segmental haemangiona, these are less likely to disappear completely. The problem is that, as the child grows up, she faces years of social trauma as a consequence of her appearance," says Prof Waner.

"A child usually develops some self-awareness from about three years of age so we should try to get the child looking as good as possible from then onwards. The feeling we have is that every child has the right to look normal and that is our aim."

In answer to the claim that the medical establishment is against him, Prof Waner told the US World News and Report: "I have a strong sense that what I'm doing is right."

That view is strongly endorsed by Hannah's parents. And Allison Maxwell-Jones hopes that the campaign to help her little girl will also promote tolerance towards others who are disfigured.

"This is a problem for many people. We have to address these issues and talk about them openly," she says. "Yes, surgery is wonderful, it will change the disfigurement but, no matter how brilliant Professor Waner's work is, Hannah will still see herself as different. We have to show more tolerance towards those who look different."

Prof Waner sums up his work: "For me, to be able to help these children is the greatest reward."