Huang Chuncai,The man with the world's worst tumour China's 'tumour man' undergoes more surgery to remove huge growths from his face - this time weighing 1.5kg
A Chinese man has undergone surgery to remove a 3.3lb (1.5kg) tumour from his face.
Huang Chuncai, 37, from Hunan province, has been dubbed 'China's Elephant Man'. He suffers from an extreme case of neurofibromatosis, which has caused large tumours on his face that have completely distorted his features.
He is said to have the world's worst recorded case of the condition.
Huang Chuncai has undergone surgery to remove huge 3.3lb (1.5kg) tumours from his face
The 37-year-old suffers from neurofibromatosis, the name for a number of genetic conditions
that cause swellings or lumps. Huang is said to have the world's worst recorded case of it
On Wednesday he underwent another round of surgery at a hospital in Guangzhou to remove the tumour from his left cheek.
The operation was successful and he will now have two more to try and get his condition under control.
Neurofibromatosis is the name for a number of genetic conditions that cause swellings or lumps.
Although many people who have the condition inherit it from one of their parents, up to 50 per cent develop it randomly from a gene mutation before they are born.
Despite their alarming appearance, the growths and swellings - called neurofibromas and caused by a growth of cells - are not cancerous or contagious.
Huang's tumours, which five years ago were said to weigh 33lb (15kg), have put such pressure on his body that it has deformed his backbone, stunted his growth and left him in continual pain.
The tumour first became noticable when he turned four and as he grew up, it became bigger and bigger.
On Wednesday he underwent another round of surgery at a hospital in Guangzhou to remove the tumour from his left cheek
The operation was successful and he will now have two more to try and get his condition under control, Chinese media reported
He is said to have quit school when he was 10 years old because his classmates laughed and alienated him because of his condition.
All of his teeth fell off at the age of 25 and thereafter, he found it difficult to speak and eat.
It has also been reported that several years ago, a circus approached his father to buy his son for holding 'monster performances', but his parents refused.
Huang had surgery in 2007 and 2008 - the first to remove the 33lb tumour. The surgery was extremely risky due to the high chance of heavy bleeding.
WHAT IS NEUROFIBROMATOSIS?
Neurofibromatosis is the name for a number of genetic conditions that cause swellings or lumps.
Although many people who have the condition inherit it from one of their parents, up to 50 per cent develop it randomly from a gene mutation before they are born.
Despite their alarming appearance, the growths and swellings - called neurofibromas and caused by a growth of cells - are not cancerous or contagious.
The condition has long been associated with the ‘Elephant Man,’ the name given to Joseph Carey Merrick, who was severely disfigured.
However, in 1986, a new theory emerged that Mr Merrick may actually have had Proteus syndrome, a condition which involves symptoms such as abnormal growth of the bones, skin and head.
The confusion was again compounded in 2001 when it was proposed that he had suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type one (NF1) and Proteus syndrome.
However, DNA tests on his hair and bones have proven inconclusive.