A 26-year-old Polish woman disfigured by a huge tumour has received a new face. Prior to the operation, she struggled to chew, swallow or talk.
Joanna was severely deformed by neurofibromatosis – a genetic condition that causes benign tumours to grow along the nerves.
The condition can also cause bone problems, pressure on the spinal nerves, severe pain, learning disabilities and vision and hearing problems. There is no cure for it.
Although many people who have the condition inherit it from one of their parents, up to 50 per cent develop it randomly from a gene mutation before they are born. Despite their alarming appearance, the growths and swellings - called neurofibromas and caused by a growth of cells - are not cancerous or contagious.
Genetics expert Dr Anand Saggar said the facial tumour will not recur because the skin on her new face is from different genes.
God, these doctors are good. Thank God for her.
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