FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A teenage boy who came to South Florida from Cuba to have a massive facial tumor removed has died days after surgery, according to news reports.
Emanuel Zayas, 14, flew to Miami in late November because of the 10-pound tumor that developed from a disorder called polyostotic fibrous dysplasia.
The tumor covered his face and though the growth was benign, it could have suffocated him because of the pressure it was putting on this trachea, The Miami Herald reported.
Zayas was operated on at Holtz Children's Hospital at Jackson Memorial hospital and as recently as Thursday surgeon Robert E. Marx saw positive signs from the boy's visual reflexes and facial muscle tone, WTVJ-TV reported.
However, Zayas died Friday night, the news accounts said.
"Our condolences and prayers for Emanuel's family and the loss of a very brave young man," Marx said in a statement. "Another angel has arrived in heaven."
The Zayas family has donated his remains to science in order to foster additional learning about the disorder that affected him, the Herald reported.
