A teenager whose giant facial tumour caused his mother to disown him has had surgery and has been reunited with his family. Kambou Sie travelled from his hometown of Bondoukou in the Ivory Coast to Italy for life-changing treatment to tackle a tumour engulfing his whole face. Stunning before and after pictures show the 18-year-old's transformation after surgeons reconstructed his face. The 18-year-old, known as Prosper, was 10 years old when the aggressive mass first started to appear on his cheek. It was left untreated and over the years it began to completely swamp his facial features, affecting his eyesight and his whole face to droop.
Growing up, he was often ignored or avoided by his community because nobody understood his condition and thought he was contagious. The only person who supported him was his father, as he was even disowned by his own mother. After arriving at Naples Pascale Hospital in Italy 14 months ago, tests revealed that a tumour was a rare form of cancer called Burkitt lymphoma, which attacks the immune system.
He underwent six months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and stem cell replacement to reduce a tumour. Prosper said: 'When I arrived here, often I was afraid. I think that fear was all I felt. My nose used to block my sight. I had to hold my nose down to be able to see. 'Three days after I began chemo I realised I didn’t need to hold my nose down anymore to see.'I am very happy because when I go out I don’t cry. I am happy to meet people. I go out, I have fun, I play around. I have no problems. I am very happy.'Now cancer has been eradicated, surgeons are working to reconstruct his face.
Specialist Dr Franc Ionna explained: 'There’s a flaw in the development of the facial bones. He has an alteration of the facial bone.'There’s a dissymmetry the left side is different to the right. One side has too much bone on the other is a deficit.'It will take several surgeries, as cancer has affected the bone structure of Prosper’s skull. The right side of Prosper’s face has an underdeveloped cheekbone and eye socket, which will need to be rebuilt. But Prosper’s bones are still recovering from the impact of radiotherapy, so Dr Ionna will first work on the lower half of his face. The surgeon spent three hours removing the cancer-damaged skin and releasing scar tissue hardened by the radiotherapy. He said: 'I had an endless series of difficulties due to him having gone through radiotherapy the tissues were very stiff just like a wall.'But the surgery goes well and Proser’s face is starting to take shape.
