Madagascan woman regains smile after Korean medical team removes facial tumor

Vaosolo Rasoanandrasana from Madagascar, center, poses with her interpreter and doctors of Korea University Anam Hospital who treated a giant tumor on her face during a celebration event to mark her recovery at the hospital in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Korea University Anam Hospital

A Madagascan woman who developed a tumor that covered her face and caused vision problems has a new lease on life thanks to the treatment she received from a Korean medical team.

Vaosolo Rasoanandrasana, 30, is recovering from facial nerve repair surgery at the Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, the Korea University Medical Center said, Wednesday.

Rasoanandrasana was suffering from neurofibromatosis, a syndrome of rare genetic disorders that causes abnormal cell division and results in non-cancerous tumors growing along nerves under the skin.

As she was unable to receive proper treatment for the disease in her home country, the tumor developed to cover her face and affected the vision in her right eye. It made it impossible for her to leave the house and manage everyday life as a mother.

Then Lee Jae-hoon, a surgeon and missionary who has been offering voluntary medical services in Madagascar for over 20 years, spotted her and requested his alma mater to give her treatment. The university hospital decided to do it pro bono.

As a result of three rounds of surgery by the hospital’s plastic and reconstructive surgeon and joint treatments with an otolaryngologist and an ophthalmologist, most of her facial nerves and vision were recovered.

“I don’t know how to thank professor Chung Jae-ho (who performed the surgery) and everybody in the medical team of Korea University,” she said in the hospital’s released statement. “I am thrilled that the surgery went well and love my new face. I sincerely appreciate all the care.”

The Korea University Medical Center aims to provide medical care and treatment for 100 patients from developing countries by the centenary of the institute’s foundation, coming in 2028, according to Yoon Eul-sik, director of the Korea University Medical Center.