A 14-year-old Cuban boy who had surgery to get rid of his massive 10-pound facial tumor has died. The operation on Emanuel Zayas was successful, but he died of kidney and lung complications days later, according to the Miami Herald.
Dr. Robert Marx, the head of maxillofacial surgery at the University of Miami Health System, and the main doctor assigned to Zayas' case, said the boy's family donated his body to science.
Doctors hope his body will help them figure out more about Polyostoic fibrous dysplasia, which Zayas suffered from for 12 years.
Dr. Marx added that he was "saddened" by the boy's death:
"After visiting Emanuel last night and observing a ray of hope from his pupillary reflexes and the muscle tone of his face, I was informed this morning that his condition had turned grave. I am saddened by the fact that we are losing him and that the physiological stress of the surgery was apparently too much for his compromised anatomy. Our hopes of saving his life, and with that allowing him a better quality of life, were not realized."
Zayas and his parents flew to Miami in November last year from Cuba on a humanitarian visa, after meeting missionaries from the humanitarian nonprofit Reel Life International.