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back to article China's 'elephant man' goes under the knife

Chinese surgeons today removed around 10kg (22lb) of a monster tumour which had transformed 31-year-old Huang Chuncai into the country's homegrown Joseph Merrick, Reuters reports. Huang's 15kg (33lb) growth had completely covered his left eye, "engulfed" his right ear and jaw while causing his left ear to hang down to his …

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  1. gaz

    pics?

    before and afters please anyone

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder...

    Good to see the poor chap was relieved of his burden.

    - Though I cannot help but wonder: Will they eat it?

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  3. Sven

    pics

    A google images search on Huang Chuncai shows some images. nothing spectacular but you get the idea...

    another good one here: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=58496&in_page_id=2 you can make out his ear just under the blanket.

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  4. Eric

    pic

    http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2006-06/29/content_629422.htm

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  5. Brand Hilton

    No pics?

    How in the world can you post a story like this with no pics? For that matter, don't you have any pics of Jordon and her new pup?

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Here's video

    It's much worse than words described. <shudder>

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFE8Ed8fO_E

    And a pic:

    http://bp0.blogger.com/_GzXYfK-lDG4/RnqHYTBLLYI/AAAAAAAAA40/rJqIcm0NUVY/s1600/tumour.jpg

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    pictures

    Poor bloke. Here's wishing him well.

    http://www.itv.com/news/world_1ecac8e655d9f19467e3f62b153c6e64.html

    http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=58496&in_page_id=2

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  8. Rob

    Pre-Op picture here

    http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=58496&in_page_id=2

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  9. Gene Cash Silver badge

    So it took them 30 years to decide it's a problem?

    Sounds like it was American doctors...

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  10. Chris Walker

    Its unimaginable?

    I sincerely hope he gets it sorted, but lawks alive why wait 30 years?

    By the end of year 1 it must have been anything but "unimaginable"... unless someone nicked all the mirrors and kept swapping out his hats for bigger ones.

    Which is naughty.

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  11. A. Merkin

    Foreign Relations...

    "Chuncai" Huang? ...I wonder if he's related to Hu-Je Huang?

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  12. Dillon Pyron

    Re: So it took them 30 years to decide it's a problem

    "Sounds like it was American doctors..."

    Not if he had insurance.

    That's socialized medicine for you.

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  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wish him well

    Obviously he's going to need more surgery to rid of the rest of it, still, good luck to him, and a speedy recovery. 30 years living with tat must have been difficult.

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  14. Glenn Alexander

    Chinese hospitals

    Chinese Public Hospitals (not private ones which are generally the ones you read about for really dodgy practices) are - from personal experience having a few minor tumors removed while I was living there - rather like Western public ones: shabby and underfunded but clean and competently staffed. Also, while heavily subsidised by the government, procedures are not free - like in the US, if you have no money at all you go without for the most part. Chinese people do tend to respond generously to TV stories about people needing life-saving procedures they can't afford.

    From other reports around, I gather that while relatively benign, the said tumor is packed with blood vessels and even with latest operating procedures presents a serious bleeding-to-death-on-the-table risk during the operation, which might also explain why it took so long to act.

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