A 14-year-old boy who underwent surgery to remove a 10-pound rumor from his face has died.
NBC Miami reports Emanuel Zayas died after undergoing surgery to remove the basketball sized growth from his face.
“Our condolences and prayers for Emanuel’s family and the loss of a very brave young man,” said Dr. Robert E. Marx, a surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital. “Another angel has arrived in Heaven.”
WFOR reported Zayas, who is from Cuba, was diagnosed at birth with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, a condition that replaces multiple areas of bones with fibrous tissue and may cause fractures and deformity of the legs, arms, and skull.
The condition began affecting his left arm and leg when he was two years old. Doctors were able to control his condition with medication after his condition worsened at age 9.
The family tried to get help for years. They were finally granted a temporary visa to come to Miami from Cuba to have the surgery.
“I am saddened by the fact that we are losing him and that apparently the physiologic stress of the surgery was too much for his compromised anatomy to overcome,” Marx told NBC Miami. “Our hopes of saving his life and in doing so would allow him a better quality of life have not been realized.”
Dr. Marx says Zayas’ family plans to donate his body to medical research in hopes of learning more about the rare disease.
(Story from NBC4i)