An Arizona man’s neck tumor, which had been growing for nearly two decades, grew so large that he had trouble eating, bathing and even turning his head from side to side. ‘other.
Tim, a 62-year-old man from Scottsdale, had a 5.5-pound tumor growing on the right side of his face and neck.
While the mass started as “a little pimple near my ear,” Tim said it continued to grow for 16 years, evolving from a golf ball to a tennis ball.
Eventually, it grew so large that it began to put pressure on his ears, jaw, neck and throat.
Due to its size, the tumor distorted Tim’s face, pulling and stretching his ear, jaw, cheek and eye. He had a headache every day and certain movements made his face feel like it was “torn apart.”
He could only eat out of the left side of his mouth and had eaten his meals standing up, otherwise the growth would hit the table and hit his food.
Tim, a 62-year-old man from Scottsdale, Arizona, had a 5.5-pound tumor growing on the right side of his face and neck.
Tim often used humor as a “security blanket” and to make people feel more comfortable with him and his development.
Tim was never able to have the tumor removed because he didn’t have health insurance or the money to pay for the surgery himself.
But when head and neck surgeon Dr. Ryan Osborne contacted him, Tim had hope that he could finally live a normal life.
He said on the latest episode of TLC Take my tumor: ‘I hope Dr Osborne is quite capable of eliminating the beast. You have to trust someone and… I give Dr. Osborne the green light to (do his) magic.
“At the end of the day, I just want to be half normal and I don’t feel that often.”
Tim’s tumor first appeared in 2007, when he was 46 years old.
Thinking it was a pimple, he squeezed it to see if it would burst. When nothing happened, Tim left.
Then it grew to the size of a pea and he had someone else try to pop it. Yet nothing happened.
One day he woke up and she was the size of a bouncy ball: “One day you look in the mirror and you’re like, ‘oh, she’s gotten bigger.'”
When he turned to the internet in search of answers, he said all the information was a sebaceous cyst, the most common type of skin cyst.
This type of cyst is a painless bump under the skin that grows slowly. It is usually harmless and can appear on the face, neck, scalp, back, or groin.
The growths are quite common, affecting at least 20 percent of adults. They can form if a sebaceous gland – a microscopic gland connected to hair follicles that secretes an oily or waxy substance – is damaged or blocked.
Most of these cysts will not need treatment and should be left alone and kept clean.
Tim’s height has been weighed several times, with weights ranging from 4 lbs to almost 6 lbs.
The mechanic was never able to have his tumor removed because he didn’t have health insurance or money to pay for the surgery himself.
However, if the growth causes discomfort, a doctor can remove it under local anesthesia.
Over the years, Tim has used humor as a defense mechanism and a “security blanket” to deal with his “friendly little tumor” and make people feel less uncomfortable around him and his growth.
But the 4-6 pound mass still interfered with his life.
The mechanic said he had to lift the tumor over his shoulder to turn his head while driving and that the growth bothered him when he tried to maneuver under cars to service them.
All of his clothes were stretched to accommodate the growth and he often didn’t get enough sleep, having to position himself on his left side with his right elbow under the tumor to keep the weight from crushing his neck.
But with the help of Dr. Osborne, Tim had the opportunity to remove the growth, which a friend nicknamed “Little Timmy.”
So he flew to meet the surgeon, a Los Angeles-based head and neck surgical oncologist and director of the Osborne Head and Neck Institute.
While the two men previously video chatted, Dr. Osborne said, “To really appreciate the size of this tumor, you have to see it in person.”
After examining the growth, the doctor said he suspected the tumor came from Tim’s parotid gland, a gland that produces saliva.
Having tumors in this gland is not uncommon, but they are usually the size of a walnut. A plant as large as Tim’s is “unusual” and more like a watermelon, Dr Osborne said.
As the two men video chatted previously, Dr. Osborne said: “To really appreciate the size of this tumor, you have to see it in person. »
Dr. Ryan Osborne, a Los Angeles-based head and neck surgical oncologist and director of the Osborne Head and Neck Institute, expressed concern about the nerves running through the tumor.
Although the surgeon was comfortable with removing the mass, he expressed concern about handling the facial nerves that pass through it – cutting the wrong one could lead to facial paralysis.
Either way, Dr. Osborne would have to cut a large nerve that provides sensation to the right ear.
After surgery, it was also possible that Tim would have a large bump on the side of his face.
Additionally, the doctor told Tim that even if the surgery was successful, it could still take six months before he regained full function and sensation in his face.
Although Tim was “not too thrilled” about having slight facial deformities, he was still adamant that he wanted the tumor to go away.
The most concerning detail that Dr. Osborne told Tim, however, was that there was a slight chance the mass was cancerous.
Even though his instincts told him it was benign, because it had been growing for so long, there was a chance the cells had mutated and become malignant.
Regardless, the tumor needed to be removed, and soon, Dr. Osborne said.
Tim said: “This is the first time anyone has actually said there is a possibility it could be cancerous.” It sort of casts a little shadow over the parade, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do to change it.
“And to know if there is cancer, the tumor still needs to be removed.”
Dr Osborne and his colleague, plastic surgeon Dr Jason Hamilton, operated on Tim’s face and neck for almost five hours.
Tim’s surgery was successful and he retained all facial movement and showed no deformities.
Two days later, Dr Osborne and his colleague, plastic surgeon Dr Jason Hamilton, operated on Tim’s face and neck for almost five hours.
During the operation, Dr. Osborne was able to identify and avoid major facial nerves. He removed the entire mass and Dr. Hamilton was able to reconstruct Tim’s cheek without any concavity.
Tim woke up still able to smile and move his whole face.
A week later, Dr. Osborne told Tim that the condition was “as bad as it gets.”
The tumor was completely benign, with no signs of cancer. The results showed the growth was “consistent with a benign parotid tumor called a pleomorphic adenoma.”
Pleomorphic adenomas are the most common type of salivary tumor, accounting for 70-80% of benign salivary gland tumors and are particularly common in the parotid gland.
Each year, these increases represent two to 3.5 cases per 100,000 people, the NIH reports.
Since the tumor removal, Tim can put on shirts properly, eat with his whole mouth, drive without lifting his tumor to turn his head, and has not had a headache since the morning of surgery.
The mechanic said “it’s fantastic” to have the tumor gone and that he is ready to move on with his life.
Seven weeks after his surgery, Tim walked out without fear of people staring or making fun of him and was able to have a shave for the first time in two decades.
He said: “Since the operation I feel lighter. I had no pain. This has been much easier than expected… It’s fantastic.
“When the tumor was there, damn, that thing was ugly. It’s good that it’s gone. Sixteen years was quite a long time. Everywhere I go, everyone is really happy for me.
Now he can put on shirts properly, eat with his whole mouth, drive without lifting his tumor to turn his head, and has not had a headache since the morning of surgery.
He can also work properly on customer cars without the tumor getting in the way.
Once the tumor was gone, Tim said he could start living his life.
He added: “I have to say now: ‘I don’t have a tumor anymore.’ You’re back to normal, so move on with your life. Let’s go.”‘
Take my tumor airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on TLC.
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