Massive tumour removed from man's face in China

Chinese surgeons today said they successfully operated on a man with a 33lb tumour that hung down from his face, obscuring his features and warping his backbone.

More than 10 doctors and nurses took part in the hour-long surgery that removed the tumour, said Xu Kecheng, president of Fuda Cancer Hospital in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The patient, Huang Chuncai, 31, from southern Hunan province, suffered from a facial tumour with a perimeter of 38.2 inches and measuring 22.4 inches long, according to the hospital.

Huang’s facial tumour became noticeable when he was four years old, the hospital said.

It grew bigger and more quickly as he grew older, blocking his left eye, pushing his left ear to shoulder level, knocking out his teeth and deforming his backbone.

Huang is only 4ft 5ins tall and had trouble speaking, hearing and eating before the surgery.

Xu said the surgeons’ biggest challenge was to avoid massive bleeding because there were large blood vessels in Huang’s tumour.

One the doctors who operated on Huang, Niu Lizhi, said the surgical team prevented bleeding by freezing the tumour.

Niu said Huang is being closely monitored and that he expects the patient to be discharged in a month.