A 12-year-old Vietnamese girl is recovering in hospital after extensive surgery to remove a tumour on her face.
As reported in Star Weekly last month, Linh Da was born with a birth mark on her face that grew into a tumour which had taken over the left side of her face and obscured her mouth.
Earlier this month, she was admitted to Dandenong Hospital, where a team of 26 surgeons worked to remove part of the tumour, which was not cancerous but caused Linh Da considerable pain.
David Bennett, of Brimbank Central Rotary, said Linh Da suffered from excessive bleeding during the surgery so she went back into surgery two days later to have the rest of the tumour removed.
Linh Da has since been transferred to the Monash Children’s Centre, where she will spend two weeks recovering before undergoing reconstructive surgery, which will include taking some muscle from her leg to put in her cheek.
She will also need dental work, which is being funded by Brimbank Central Rotary.
“She’s still a pretty sick little girl, but the prognosis is OK now,” Mr Bennett said.
“It’s going to take a little longer than we thought.”
Deer Park resident Kim Thien Truong, who met Linh Da two years ago in a children’s hospital in Vietnam, has raised more than $40,000 to help pay for the girl and her mother, Hanh Vu, to come to Australia and receive medical treatment.
Linh Da is the fourth child Ms Truong has helped out in recent years.
Rotary’s Overseas Medical Aid for Children program has also helped bring Linh Da and her mother to Australia and is funding a series of procedures at the Monash Medical Centre.
To donate, call 0423 369 236 or go to www.kimsfoundationofhopeinc.jimdo.com
