Lai Thi Dao, "Tumor Girl", Has Successful Removal (PICTURES)

Lai Thi Dao, "Tumor Girl", Has Successful Removal (PICTURES)

A Vietnamese girl is finally free of a disfiguring 16-pound (7-kilogram) facial tumor, after a surgery that lasted at least 12 hours in Miami.

The Schwannoma tumor had consumed the lower half of 15-year-old Lai Thi Dao's face. It had been growing since she was 3 and eventually accounted for roughly one-third of her body weight.

Doctors at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center tell The Miami Herald that Lai's tumor was one of the largest ever reported. The growth had threatened to cut off her airway.

Lai Thi Dao pre-surgery

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