Ten-year-old Hoang Son Pham suffers from a vascular anomaly in which tightly packed clusters of blood vessels multiply at an unusually high rate producing a growth called a hemangioma.
Yesterday, he underwent two hour surgery in Boston to begin to remove the massive growth from his face.
Doctors say that he is recovering well from the procedure, even though they had to perform a tracheostomy to insert a semi-permanent tube that will keep air flowing to his lungs should subsequent treatments cause excessive swelling in his throat.
The little fighter will have to stay in hospital for the next six or seven days so he can heal from the operation.
The next phase of treatment, to be performed by a team of specialists, is designed to reduce that blood mass, the sheer volume of which adds to the risk of complications. An agent will be injected directly into the veins of the growth that will cause the blood to clot and harden which should ultimately lead to the collapse of the blood vessels.
Doctors say he’ll have to return to Boston periodically for the next year for treatments aimed at shrinking the football-sized mass that continues to grow over the left side of his face. Between rounds of injections, Son will stay in Halifax with Olwyn Walter, the president of the foundation that is arranging for his surgery.
The foundations site says that
the initial estimate for Son’s treatment was $700,000 but thanks to the Boston doctors who generously donated their services and to Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation who contributed $150,000 to hospital costs, that estimate is now down to $200,000. The Children’s Bridge Foundation wants to pay this cost and the estimated $75,000 more for his on-going care, travel and living expenses during treatment.
