WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES - VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.
Jun. 20 - Chinese man prepares to undergo an operation to remove a 15-kilogramme tumour from his face.
Huang Chuncai suffers from the world's most extreme recorded case of neurofibroma, a steadily growing tumour that has left him in continual pain and forced him to withdraw from society. But now doctors in southern China are preparing to carry out an operation the thirty-one-year-old hopes will transform his future.
Jean Di Marino reports.
CHINA
MOD-DATE: 06/20/07 09:21:18
BREAKING08-JUN20-CHINA-ELEPHANT MAN
BREAKING08: STORY 310
ELEPHANT MAN GUANGZHOU, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA JUNE 18, 2007 NATURAL WITH MANDARIN SPEECH DURATION:02:26
SOURCE:REUTERS FEED HISTORY:+NEW BN08 (0845GMT)
INTRO: Life changing surgery planned for China's elephant man.
TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE**~
A young man known as China's elephant man plans to undergo surgery that
will remove the 15-kilogramme tumor that has crippled him and ostricised him
from society.
STORY: Huang Chuncai suffers from the world's most extreme recorded case of
neurofibroma and sufferers of this condition are often referred to as an "elephant man".
Now doctors in China's southern city of Guangzhou are preparing to turn
Huang's life around.
Huang has suffered from the condition since he was born, although the
tumor has grown steadily larger as he grew older. He is now 31-years-old.
The weight of carrying the 15-kilogramme tumor on his face has deformed
his backbone, stunted his growth and left him in continual pain. "I never feel happy in my life," said Huang Chuncai.
A team of doctors at Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou are willing to
operate although the operation still carries risks. Ultrasounds on the tumor
have revealed several large blood vessels that may hemorrhage and cause the
patient to bleed to death during the operation.
"The tumor is huge and there are too many blood vessels inside
which makes the operation too difficult. If we cannot stop the bleeding during
the operation, Huang will die," said Lizhi Niu, Huang's doctor.
If the operation is successful, Huang's quality of life will improve
tenfold. "He demands us to cut off the largest tumor. After discussing with
experts we think that it is possible to remove the tumor and so we accept him
to have treatment in our hospital," said Xu Ke Cheng, president of the
Fuda Cancer Hospital.
He lost sight in his right eye at just 10-years-old when the tumor
above his right eye grew to entirely obscure it. The tumor is now so large
that he has almost lost his hearing ability and finds speaking difficult.
His condition has ostricised him from society-- Huang Chuncai has spent
much of his life living as a recluse, and bullying from his classmates forced
him to leave school at the age of ten. His father even indignantly described
how he was approached several years ago by someone who wished to buy Huang
Chuncai and display him as a freak show.
Huang's family live in a remote mountain village on arid farmland in
Yongxin County in Hunan Province. His family struggles to earn a living on the
arid farmland and simply could not afford the medical costs of treatment until
this hospital offered to help.
The Fuda Hospital had successfully operated on two patients with the
same condition from Malaysia.
ENDS.
