China’s Elephant Man prepares for further surgery

32 year old Huang Chuncai from China’s southern Hunan province is preparing for a third operation to remove the enormous tumour growing on the left side of his face.

Huang gained the nickname Elephant Man when the neurofibromatosis he suffers from caused huge tumours to grow on his face, severely disfiguring him. Not only are the tumours unsightly they also cause real medical problems, such as stunted growth, curvature of the spine and restricted breathing.

In July 2007 Huang had his first operation at the Fuda Cancer Hospital-Guangzhou which removed a massive 33lbs of tumour from the right side of his face. The following January Huang underwent a second operation to remove a further 10lbs of tumour, and his story was documented on the Channel 4 show Bodyshock.

Now Professor Xu who is treating Huang says that he has been healing well and plans are to carry out the third operation within the next six months, hopefully in time for Huang to attend his sisters wedding early next year.

The operation is very tricky, the tumours are pressing against Huang’s brain and there is also a considerable risk of excessive blood loss. The veins which supply blood to the tumours have become increasingly enlarged as the tumours grow, accidentally severing one could prove disastrous.

Huang come’s from a poor family in a rural area of China, his one wish is to be well enough to earn money to pay back his parents for the care they’ve given him. The huge medical bills are covered by donations, you can donate to the Huang Chuncai fund by using this details:

Account name: Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital

Account Number: 3602 0042 2920 0078 764

Bank: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Guangdong BR.

Switch Code: ICBK CNBJ GDG

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