The journey to find the light of the boy with 19 years of neurofibromatosis

Dang Ton Pu (31 years old, living in Ia RVê commune, Ea Sup district, Dak Lak province) was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 12. By the time tumor in the face and eyes began to swell, deformed, painful.

19 years neurofibromatosis clinging, permanently blind right eye

At the age of 16, Pu lost his mother, his father also refused, and was alone in the fight against neurofibromatosis. Up to now, the tumor in Mr. Pu’s face has grown to be enlarged. With tumor on the left side of the face with an area up to 15×10 cm, the tumor on the right half of the face 10×10 cm. The entire tumor pulled down into both eyes, causing compression of the orbits, complete drooping of the eyelids, and a potential risk of brain infection.

Pu’s eyes still see a little light BVCC

Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder. These include tumors related to the nervous system. Although neurofibromatosis is most likely benign, over time it can have a negative impact on aesthetics as well as quality of life.

Since the onset of the disease, Mr. Pu had to give up his studies, wherever he went, he had to use a mask to cover his face. If you want to see anything clearly, you must use your hand to draw out the tumor in the eye. Visual acuity at this point is only 60-70%, the eyes are open narrow with a vision only about 0.5 cm wide, and can not see more than 2 m away.

There was no money for treatment or medication, so by the age of 20, a tumor in his right eye had ruptured, leading to permanent blindness. However, the tumor in the left eye is getting bigger and bigger over time and has the same risk of rupture and permanent blindness as the right eye.

“I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I will try, I am not afraid of anything. When there is an opportunity why be afraid”

Dang Ton Pu

The doctor refused to operate and then called back

Destiny brought Mr. Pu to see Dr. Nguyen Phan Tu Dung, Director of JW Hospital in the hope of finding light for his left eye. However, he was once again disappointed to hear the doctor say “My surgery has a lot of risks, let’s go home!”

However, after that meeting, Dr. Dung could not help but worry. “If I don’t have surgery, the other eye will definitely be permanently blind. If both eyes are permanently blind and with my current face, I have to live a lonely life, who will take care of me?” Dr. Dung shared.

Dr. Dung decided to meet Pu to discuss the surgery: “If there is only a 1% chance of seeing the light, will you accept the trade-off?”. After thinking for a while, Mr. Pu nodded in agreement.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I’ll try, I’m not afraid of anything. When there’s an opportunity, why be afraid,” Mr. Pu said.

Understanding the patient’s situation, who could not afford the treatment, the doctor decided to operate for free.

5 hours of stress, find the light for Mr. Pu

According to Dr. Dung, the most important thing is to solve the tumor in the patient’s left eye. The tumor has now invaded the upper eyelid sphincter, lower eyelid sphincter, and levator muscle. More dangerous is that the tumor has also eaten conjunctiva, and the corneal margin in a state of tension. Without early surgery, the risk of tumor rupture causing permanent blindness is very high. But if the entire upper and lower eyelids are removed, the patient will not be able to open his eyes for the rest of his life.

At 8:00 am on April 6, the surgery was carried out. Doctors decided to use technology Plasma scalpel, in order to minimize damage and speed up the healing process.

Starting from the tumor in the left eye, the doctor made very small incisions to cut out the tumor in the upper and lower eyelid sphincter, then the inside of the patient’s eye socket.

Dr. Dung and his team in the operation for Mr. Pu BVCC

“Just a little slip or not careful, the scalpel will go over the limit, breaking all nerves as well as the tumor in the eye causing immediate blindness. This is a great difficulty in the surgical process.” Dr. Dung shared.

After removing the excess meat, the crew continued to raise the eye angle to 3 cm, and at the same time, raised the temple to create a facial aesthetic.

By 13:30, after more than 5 hours with the efforts of 5 doctors, Pu’s eyesight improved, her face was neater.

Waking up after the surgery, Mr. Pu smiled and said that he was healthy, his eyesight improved, he saw himself in the mirror. Currently, Mr. Pu continues to undergo medical treatment to monitor the disease.