Jose Mestre - The Man with no face
- Jose Mestre from Portugal has a gigantic life threatening tumor covering his face.
- Jose Mestre was born in 1957 in Lisabon, Portugal. He was born with a birthmark on his face, and at the age of 14, it began to swell.
- Since Jose was a teenager, the tumor has been growing, covering his lips and one of his eyes. The tumor is now 33 cm long and weighs around 3 kg.
Jose Mestre as a teenager
- The growth is a condition called a vascular malformation –a collection of blood vessels that have expanded.
- If it wasn’t for all the blood and its vessels in the growth, Jose said he would cut it all off.
- Jose’s mouth has become a part of his tumor, causing his teeth to breaking and twisting.
- In 2008, at the age of 51, Jose finally got the courage to try a surgical procedure. If his tumor is not removed, he is in a great risk to be suffocated by it.
- Jose went to London with his sister and his niece to be observed and hopefully – relieved from his tumor.
- At a surgery, there is a great risk because all of the potential blood loss when trying to remove the tumor. Another problem is that Jose is a Jehovah’s witness and can’t accept the procedure’s necessary blood transfusion.
- After a surgical procedure, Jose would be left with a raw face which would need reconstruction. The problem with this is that Jose wouldn’t be able to show facial expressions.
Sources and further reading:
The Telegraph-article
My Shocking Story: episode information
