Sandy Diaz was born in June 2015 in Queens, New York, with a large congenital lymphatic malformation — a non-cancerous but potentially life-threatening accumulation of abnormal lymph vessels and fluid. The mass, already significant at birth, grew aggressively on the right side of her face and neck until it reached a size nearly comparable to her own head. It obstructed her airway, forced her to rely on a tracheostomy for breathing, and required tube feeding because she could not eat by mouth.

Non-surgical treatments, including repeated attempts to reduce the mass with medication, failed and in some cases worsened the condition. When Sandy was still an infant, her family sought care from specialists at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Dr. Milton Waner, a leading expert in pediatric vascular anomalies, and his colleague and wife, Dr. Teresa O, determined that surgical removal was necessary.

In early August 2016, when Sandy was about one year old, the surgical team performed a complex operation lasting more than eight hours. Using advanced nerve-mapping technology to protect her delicate facial nerves and carefully navigating around major blood vessels including the carotid artery, the surgeons successfully excised approximately 95–98% of the malformation.

The result was dramatic. Sandy was gradually able to breathe without a tracheostomy, begin learning to eat and speak, and develop more normally. By age three she was an energetic preschooler who still required occasional follow-up treatments (such as bleomycin injections) for residual cysts, along with occupational therapy and future procedures to address bone changes caused by the long-standing mass. Her mother, Maricela (also referred to as Maricella) Benitez Diaz, described the outcome as transformative for the entire family.

Lymphatic malformations of this size and location are rare and carry serious risks of airway obstruction, infection, and progressive disfigurement if left untreated. Sandy’s case became a well-documented example of successful, highly specialized surgical intervention for a severe pediatric vascular anomaly.

Sources:

• Contemporary reporting from New York Daily News, NBC New York, ABC7 New York, and Fox 5 New York (2016–2019) covering Sandy Diaz’s diagnosis, the August 2016 surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital led by Dr. Milton Waner and Dr. Teresa O, and her subsequent recovery and follow-up care.