Retired Slovakian plumber Stefan suffers from rare Madelung disease and endured a five-hour operation to get the massive fatty growth removed
A cancer sufferer has had a tumour weighing almost a stone cut from his face.
Stefan Zoleik has suffered with huge fatty growths weighing down his face for almost a decade.
The dad-of-two was ridiculed about his looks and stared at in the street. He also had trouble moving his head. Things got so bad he rarely left his home in Martin, Slovakia. But following a five-hour procedure doctors rid him of the swelling and removed 13lbs of fat.
Stefan has a rare condition called Madelung disease which causes fat fibres to grow uncontrollably across his cheeks and chin.
The retired plumber said: “Everybody was turning and looking at me.
“It was very unpleasant. It also bothered me all the time when I turned my head.”
Anguish: Stefan with tumour and after op
Doctors were unable to operate on him for nearly 10 years because of other health complications. But he was finally declared fit enough to have the surgery.
Surgeon Igor Oklahoma spent a painstaking amount of time remodelling the skin to resemble Stefan’s face before he was disfigured.
And it seems the patient was very impressed with the results. He said: “This is amazing, much better than it was before, which was horrible. I don’t even feel any pain now.
‘I’m really looking forward to getting back to normal.
‘I’ll finally be able to go for a beer with friends without people turning their heads and pointing at me.”
But Mr Oklahoma warned: “The tumour can not be removed completely and may even return.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/pictured-man-13lb-tumour-removed-3627199