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Where is Marcelo now? Dr Osborne advocates for 15-year-old 'Take My Tumor' patient to receive healing medication

Specialists believe that removing entire tumor from Marcelo's face will lead to facial paralysis

ANGOLA, CENTRAL AFRICA: Marcelo,15, flew from Angola to Los Angeles to have a huge neck tumor removed, but the surgery was deemed too hazardous. However, Dr Ryan F Osborne of 'Take My Tumor' tried his best to remove as much of the tumor as possible while risking facial paralysis. 

Marcelo's TLC update stated that Dr Osborne has been working with the family to receive the medicine required to help shrink Marcelo's tumor. Back in Angola, the family has yet to get their medicine.

Dr Osborne continues to fight for the family and is working relentlessly to obtain the medication Marcelo requires for this critical next stage in his healing process.

Who is Marcelo in 'Take My Tumor'?

It's critical to get Marcelo's face tumor removed right away, since its deep roots are beginning to affect his airway. It was discovered by Dr Osborne that the fifteen-year-old youngster has neurofibroma.

Marcelo was identified early in his life as having NF-1, an inherited disorder that can lead to tumor growth and is incurable. He received an autism diagnosis at about the same time.

Dr Osborne met this wonderful young man in Angola a few years ago, and he is quite remarkable. In order to receive treatment from the 'Take My Tumor' doctor, the family now took a plane all the way to Los Angeles.    

The tumor was small when Marcelo was four years old, Marcelino, Marcelo's father, disclosed to the TLC cameras. It was not as big as it is now. 

The tumor grew alongside him during his growth. Brigida, Marcelo's mother, continued by describing how the tumor has impacted her son's life, particularly when he speaks. 

Marcelo said, "It bothers me a lot, especially when I go to bed." His mother said that he appeared to be having trouble breathing.

When Dr Osborne initially took on Marcelo as a patient, he noticed the huge tumor on the side of his face and was confident that he could treat it. But then he ordered the scan. 

The scan revealed that Dr Osborne was just looking at the top of the iceberg. The tumor was deep, encasing all the major veins and nerves. 

Previous physicians had refused to do the operation on Marcelo and his family due to fears of facial paralysis from removing the tumor. Dr Osborne saw that the tumor had spread from the back of his neck to the nasopharynx. 

This suggests that Marcelo has difficulty breathing, eating, and swallowing. Even though Dr Osborne concurred with the other specialists who believed facial paralysis was a serious possibility in Marcelo's case, he also believes that as the tumor grows, there is an increasing danger of airway compromise. 

This might be a life-threatening scenario. Thus, the advantage of preserving his airway exceeds the danger of facial paralysis.    

What happened to Marcelo in 'Take My Tumor'? 

Dr Osborne began Marcelo's procedure with a skin incision. Marcelo's tumor was extremely dangerous to remove since it was close to a huge blood vessel! 

Marcelo lost nerve tissue as the procedure progressed, making it more difficult. Dr Osborne excised a major piece of the tumor from Marcelo's lower face five hours into the surgery. 

The doctor attempted to remove as much tumor as possible without damaging any critical nerves. Due to his condition, all of his nerves became attached to each other, making the surgery more challenging. 

Viewers were well aware that Marcelo's procedure would be dangerous. Fortunately, Dr Osborne is not in a rush. 

He has a strategy in place and understands the importance of patience and thorough consideration of many choices.

After removing the majority of his tumor, Dr Osborne was forced to halt due to the risk of bodily harm. The biggest disadvantage of removing the whole procedure at once is that Marcelo may lose movement in his tongue, which would impact both his eating and speech. 

Dr Osborne was able to keep the nerves that control his facial movements intact. Dr Osborne decided to leave the tumors that had already impacted Marcelo's tongue, voice chord, and diaphragm alone. 

Even though he wanted to operate within Marcelo's mouth, he was scared it might affect the quality of his life.

Who is Dr Ryan F Osborne in 'Take My Tumor'?

Internationally recognized as a leading authority in head and neck oncology, Dr Osborne, MD FACS, serves as the director of head and neck surgery at the Osborne Head and Neck Institute (OHNI). His area of expertise is treating malignancies of the parotid gland, and he specializes in using minimally invasive methods to treat patients who require parotid surgery. 

He has developed a number of ground-breaking surgical techniques, such as a method of treating accessory parotid gland tumors that don't need skin incisions or leave face scars. 

'Take My Tumor' airs on TLC every Wednesday at 10/9c.