Teenager 'Happy' After 4-Pound Facial Tumor Removed (WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES )

Hennglise Dorvial, 15, prior to her surgery, when the four-pound tumor known as a ameloblastoma was still inside her sinus

'I want to look in the mirror and see I'm not the same': Haitian teen has FOUR-POUND tumor removed from her face

• Hennglise Dorvial, 15, had the tumor removed during surgery that took 12 hours

• Surgery organized and paid for through Operation Smile, a charity that performs surgery on facial deformities for children from poor countries

• Operation Smile CEO Dr. William McGee, who helped perform the surgery, said Hennglise's tumor is the largest he has ever removed

                                   Hennglise after the surgery. Her doctors say the vision in her left eye will likely never return

Doctors in Virginia have removed a four-pound tumor from the face of a Haitian teen during surgery that took 12 hours.

Hennglise Dorvial, 15, had the benign tumor, which started out four years ago as pea-sized inside her sinus, known as a ameloblastoma, removed by a three-person medical team at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk on April 28.

     The operating room at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters on April 28 in Norfolk during Hennglise's surgery

The surgery was organized by Operation Smile, an international children’s medical charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery for children in low and middle income countries. Funding for the operation came primarily from Larry O'Reilly, the vice chairman of O'Reilly Auto Parts, who met Hennglise during a trip to Haiti in 2011.

Operation Smile cofounder and CEO, Dr. William McGee, was one of the surgeons who removed Dorvial's tumor. He added it's the largest tumor he has ever removed.
Before the surgery, Hennglise told FoxNews.com she wasn't nervous about the procedure.
'I want to look in the mirror and see I’m not the same,' she said.
Hennglise is fortunate the tumor had not invaded the base of the skull. However, chances are slim that her vision in her left eye will return, according to WVEC.

                                                Surgeons work to remove the tumor on Hennglise's face

During the surgery, Magee did a relatively small segmental bone repositioning of the left lower jaw. The tumor also changed the angulation of the lower jaw so follow up surgery will likely be necessary.

Hennglise left school in the 5th grade after her tumor doubled in size in a year. She says her 14-year-old sister is her only friend.

Culled from DailyMail