He explains that myxomas are more common in females than in males and approximately 10% of these tumors are genetic. “These are called familial myxomas and are more likely to be numerous and occur in younger patients,“ she explained.
If the child had not received the surgery as soon as she did, more than likely she would’ve required a feeding tube and she was only a month away from her breathing being blocked. Unfortunately, patients that suffer from this, die a slow, progressive death from the combination of malnourishment and blocked airways.
Dr. Ghali, along with other surgeons donated their services in order to extract the 5-pound tumor. She explains that Melyssa’s breathing was so bad, that the tumor had pushed her tongue to the back of her throat. The doctors had to do a reconstruction of her tongue and since the surgery, she’s regained full use of her tongue. “When we were able to remove this tumor, the tumor weighed over 5 pounds on a child that probably doesn’t weigh more than 25 pounds herself, total weight,” says Dr. Ghali.
As you could imagine, the family is beyond grateful and happy that their daughter was helped by these generous doctors who performed this life-altering surgery.
