Body Bizarre
Ignacia’s huge facial tumour is suffocating her…
She is only five but Ignacia was born with a potentially fatal tumour on her face and neck. As the mass has grown, it’s slowly begun to crush her windpipe and could kill her at any time.
‘It’s a complicated condition,’ says Ignacia’s mum, Danitza, from Villa Alemana, Chile. ‘When she gets sick or gets a cold she can’t breathe properly. It also causes problems with balance.’
The tumour, called a lymphangioma, is caused by the malformation of the lymph vessels in Ignacia’s neck. Unless it’s removed it will keep growing and, as it endangers her life, Ignacia will continue to face stares and nasty comments.
Transformation
‘Ignacia’s starting to realise her face is not the same as the other kids,’ says Ignacia’s dad, Jonathan. ‘There was a time I preferred not to go out, but I can’t live in a bubble with my daughter. She’s not a freak, she’s a normal girl who’s sick.’
For five years Danitza and Jonathan have been searching for a surgeon willing to perform a risky operation to remove Ignacia’s tumour. Finally, leading head-and-neck surgeon Dr Gonzalo Rossel has agreed to operate, as cameras follow the dangerous 14-hour procedure.
‘It’s complicated surgery,’ explains Danitza, as she waits outside the operating theatre for news. ‘There’s a risk of cardiac arrest or it could lead to neurological damage, but you have to stay optimistic.’
Sadly the tumour is much bigger and deeper than Dr Rossel expected. With a risk of major blood loss, he’s forced to leave a small section of tumour under Ignacia’s tongue.
But with more than 1.5kg of the mass removed, Ignacia is no longer at risk of airway compression.
‘It’s a drastic change to her face,’ smiles Jonathan. ‘The surgeons and the medical team did an exceptional job with our little girl.’