When Nguyet was only six months old, a photograph of her captured the attention of an American woman named Patti Maxey. The Vietnamese baby had a giant vascular tumor covering more than half of her face. Moved by what she saw, Maxey decided to help find medical care for the child, beginning a journey that would eventually take Nguyet and her mother thousands of miles from Vietnam to Madrid.

Nguyet’s condition was extraordinarily severe. Specialists at Madrid’s Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón eventually diagnosed her with a giant facial hemangioma. Although hemangiomas are benign tumors, doctors explained that their size and location can cause serious functional and physical consequences and, in some cases, become life-threatening. Fortunately, examinations found that Nguyet had no intracranial involvement or other associated congenital malformations.

Getting her to Spain was itself an enormous humanitarian effort. Nguyet and her mother, Lam, traveled approximately 14,000 kilometers from Hanoi to Madrid. Maxey helped organize the journey, accompanied them and assisted with transportation, medical appointments and translation. The medical team at Gregorio Marañón spent six weeks performing examinations, including imaging studies, cardiac evaluations and biopsies, before establishing a treatment strategy.

Before surgery, medication was used for about two years to reduce the size of the tumor and make reconstruction safer. By the time Nguyet was four, the mass had decreased considerably, but it had left profound effects on the left side of her face. She had lost hair on part of her scalp, lacked functional eyelids on the affected eye, and her nose, lips and facial skin had been severely distorted. She had also lost teeth and experienced difficulties with speech.

The reconstructive process required several carefully planned operations. The first major surgery took place on April 12, 2016, and lasted approximately seven hours. Surgeons reconstructed the eyelids, nose, lips and cheek while placing a tissue expander in the scalp to gradually create enough healthy skin to repair the large area where hair had been lost. The operation was particularly challenging because of significant bleeding from residual tumor tissue.

A second operation followed in May 2016. Doctors advanced the expanded scalp, refined the nose and eyelids and closed an opening in the palate to improve Nguyet’s ability to speak. After allowing the earlier procedures time to heal and settle, she returned to Madrid about two years later for additional reconstructive work.

During the later procedures, surgeons continued reshaping the scalp and face, reconstructed the lower left eyelid, improved the corner of her mouth and parts of her nose, and used skin grafts from her back to restore areas including the eyelid, lip, cheekbone and cheek. A final operation in May 2018 further covered affected areas with grafted skin and advanced healthy tissue toward the chin.

By the end of the treatment, the transformation was remarkable. Nguyet was preparing to return home to Vietnam, and her mother and Maxey described a much happier and more outgoing child. She enjoyed shopping and playing with other children and was increasingly comfortable with her new appearance. Doctors noted that she might need further adjustments as she grew, but the reconstruction had already dramatically changed her life.

Nguyet’s story is more than a story of complex surgery. It demonstrates what can happen when human compassion, international cooperation and specialized pediatric medicine come together. One photograph prompted a stranger to act; that act connected a vulnerable child with specialists capable of treating an exceptionally difficult condition.

The medical team at Gregorio Marañón’s pediatric surgery service works with multidisciplinary specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies, including hemangiomas and other vascular malformations.

For Nguyet, the journey ultimately offered something priceless: the opportunity to return home with a reconstructed face, greater confidence and the possibility of experiencing childhood with fewer limitations. Her story remains a powerful example of how medical expertise and human kindness can cross borders—and give a child a second chance at a brighter future.

Sources

• Community of Madrid – Hospital Gregorio Marañón: Official account of Nguyet’s diagnosis, humanitarian journey and reconstructive surgeries.
• Hospital Gregorio Marañón – Pediatric Surgery: Information on the hospital’s pediatric surgery and vascular-anomaly services.
• Redacción Médica: Report on the reconstruction of the Vietnamese child’s face.
• Antena 3: Report detailing the multiple operations and humanitarian assistance behind Nguyet’s treatment.