The firefighter critically injured when he was smashed in the face with a chair by a colleague during a New Year's Eve firehouse brawl underwent four hours of grueling reconstructive plastic surgery yesterday.
Robert Walsh's face was shattered when fellow smoke eater Michael Silvestri allegedly struck him with a chair during some verbal horseplay in the kitchen of Engine Co. 151 in Tottenville, Staten Island.
The delicate facial reconstruction surgery was performed at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan by Dr. Joseph McCarthy, said Walsh's brother, Jim. Doctors have cautioned that the 40-year-old Walsh "has a long way to go, a very long way to go," said Jim.
The 6-foot-8 Walsh suffered fractures to his jaw, eye socket and other facial bones and nearly had his nose ripped off in the savage chair assault.
Silvestri, 41, has been charged with assault and weapons possession.
The assault occurred about 6:45 p.m. on New Year's Eve, but it wasn't reported to cops for eight hours.
Firefighters who took Walsh to the hospital initially told doctors he was injured falling down a flight of stairs.
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