A Salt Lake girl with an extremely rare condition can't grin from ear to ear. She can't even gently smile or raise her eyebrows for a harmless flirt.

But that might change next year with a radical new procedure which repairs the disorder.

Science Specialist Ed Yeates reports from Primary Children's Hospital.

That surgery could take place here at Primary or in Canada. But in either case, the Canadian doctor who perfected the tehnique will do it. If it works, 3-year-old Kelsey Harrison could do something she's never done before.

Victor Hugo said, "Smiles and laughter are the windows of the face - revealing the very pearls of the soul." But what if those pearls could never shine because the window on the face is stuck closed?

Unlike her laughing two-year-old brother, three-year-old Kelsey Harrison has an extremely rare condition called Moebius Syndrome. It affects her sixth and seventh cranial nerves - so the face cannot smile.

Kelsey's Mom, Jamie Harrison, says, "She can't move her eyes left or right. She has no facial expression whatsoever. She can't squint. She can't do anything. It's something we all take for granted. And you know you see our other children smile."

Kelsey's dad, Jonathan Harrison, adds, "I think eventually at some point in time she's going to realize I can't smile. I can't frown. And other people can."

But the Harrisons won't wait that long. Next year, Dr. Ronald Zucker from Canada will perform a revolutionary surgery on Kelsey - the same one he performed on 11-year-old Malorie Wofford about two years ago.

Malorie made the decision herself after seeing how well the procedure worked on another patient. Malorie's mother, Joanne Wofford, says, "It motivated her and she looked at her and said I think I would like to have one of those."

The Harrison's know the surgery may or may not work on Kelsey. But even if it doesn't? "As they grow, you love them just like any other child. And you realize there is so much that they can do. She can still cry, things could be so much worse."

Afterall, Kelsey's smart and doing well in school. Even at this young age, She's learning how to compensate for disabilities affecting her hands and legs.

"She can grow up and go to school and get married and do whatever she wants. And I think she has the personality to do it."

But if all goes well next year, surgeons will move muscles in Kelsey's legs to the sides of her face - and like Malorie - that charming personality inside might show on the face for the first time.

At first, Kelsey will have to learn how to smile, biting on her teeth in the back of her mouth. But after that conditioning, the smile should come naturally.