A 14-year-old boy has died after having surgery to remove a 10-pound tumor consuming his face.
Emanuel Zayas underwent surgery two weeks ago that successfully removed the basketball-sized tumor that was beginning to suffocate him with the potential to break his neck.
However, the boy from Cuba died on Friday at a Miami hospital due to complications from the procedure that led to kidney and lung failure.
Lead surgeon Dr Robert Marx, who donated his time for the operation, said in a statement: ‘Apparently the physiologic stress of the surgery was too much for his compromised anatomy to overcome.’
Emanuel Zayas, 14, had a basketball-sized tumor growing on his face due to a rare disorder that causes bone to grow instead of tissue
The boy from Cuba died from kidney and lung failure after the surgery successfully removed the tumor
Emanuel was born with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, a condition that replaces tissue with bone causing deformities of the legs, arms and skull.
His condition was caused by a genetic deformation and it is unknown what causes the anomaly.
In addition to the tumor, his disorder also caused fractures and curvature to Emanuel’s arm and leg which made it impossible for him to walk on his own.
It affected the way Emanuel walked, talked and left him unrecognizable.
The tumor had been growing since Emanuel was 11, when what he thought was a pimple on his nose was actually skull bone growing from his upper jaw.
Though the tumor was non-cancerous, it was life-threatening because if it continued to grow, the size would suffocate him and the weight would fracture his neck.
Dr Robert Marx of University of Miami Health, told Daily Mail Online last month before the surgery: ‘In addition to improving his vision, airways and ability to eat, we hope the surgery will give the boy back his identity.’
He added that the two greatest risks of the surgery were bleeding and compromising Emanuel’s airways.
His lung and kidney failures were unexpected complications.
Three months ago Dr Marx came across Emanuel’s case and immediately offered his help free of charge.
Emanuel and his family flew from their native Cuba to Miami on a medical visa to undergo the surgery.
At the time he could only breathe through his mouth and was extremely malnourished because the growth made chewing difficult.
The tumor was so large that it blocked his vision, leaving the boy only able to look up and to the side.
Emanuel first started to show signs of the condition at the age of two when his leg and arm began curving in outward.
Doctors in Cuba were able to control his symptoms until the age of nine when his skull began to swell and deform.
But for the last three years Emanuel’s parents were desperately seeking medical help for their son as the tumor continued to consume his face.
X-rays show the large benign mass that was made of bone growing from the boy’s upper jaw
Doctors said that if the tumor continued to grow it would have suffocated Emanuel and fractured his neck
He suffered from polyostotic fibrous dysplasia which causes bone fractures and deformities. Emanuel’s leg and arm were deformed and he could not walk
This was not the first time Dr Marx had treated a facial tumor of this size.
He is one of the few doctors in the US who specializes in operating extreme size tumors, including the internationally known cases of patients Lai Thi Dao who had a 12-pound face tumor and Marlie Casseus whose tumor weighed 16 pounds.
Both surgeries were successful.
Dr Marx and his team were donating their time and skill to Emanuel.
They were planning to perform facial reconstruction surgeries after removing the tumor.
Emanuel’s mother Melvis Vizcaino said in a press conference last month: ‘It is truly a miracle of God that his pictures ended in the hands of Dr. Marx. I am so grateful he was willing to take the case.’