A Vietnamese girl with a 17-pound facial tumor is awaiting life-saving surgery that will restore her ability to eat and speak.

Lai Thi Dao, 15, suffers from a Schwannoma tumor that has been growing since she was 3. The tumor has severely disfigured her face and kept her from attending school.

"She had been with no treatment for the last 10 years," said Dr. Jesus Gomez, who is performing the surgery. "Something that started like a small black bean at the tongue now has become this huge tumor." 

The tumor is scheduled to be removed in a 10-hour surgery April 29.

The International Kids Fund is trying to raise money to help pay for her surgery.

To make a tax-deductible donation, send a check or money order payable to the International Kids Fund at:

International Kids Fund
Re: Lai Thi Dao
P.O. Box 2020
Miami, FL 33101
1-877-IKF-KIDS

[Tumor via Local10]

I was sent this one from the Internet  magazine BMEzine.com.  The story is about a man who always wanted his nose to be removed.  I’m not sure why he would want to do this, but after being turned down by multiple plastic surgeons, he finally got the nose he always wanted.

BME: Why did you want your nose removed?

WITZ: I don’t know, ever since I was a kid I imagined it. I don’t know if they have anything to do with it, because it’s the chicken and the egg, you know, but two things stand out. First, I remember watching Sesame Street episodes when I was very young, where Bert and Ernie would take their noses off, and it just really stuck with me, and I wished I could play that game… That, and my uncle always played “got your nose” with me and it was something I really remember fondly.

 

[Got Your Nose via BMEzine]