Dr. Ryan Osborne, a surgeon in Los Angeles, has transformed the life of Charmaine Sahadeo, a mother of two from Trinidad, by removing thousands of tumors that had taken over her body in more than 60 hours of surgery.
Sahadeo, who suffers from the rare disorder NF-1 neurofibromatosis, had to deal with excruciating tumors all over her body. According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Osborne performed 24 operations over a 10-week period to remove thousands of tumors from her head, face, arms, legs, buttocks, breasts, and vaginal region.
The patient had two procedures in her native country for her terrible neurofibromatosis illness, but she opted to seek more treatment abroad.
She started a fundraising to come to the United States for treatment. After a long search, she came upon Dr. Osborne, an experienced head and neck surgeon known for his skill. He was determined to aid her with one of the most severe cases of neurofibromatosis internationally.
Dr. Osborne appeared on TLC’s Take My Tumor, helping Sahadeo on a transformative journey to free herself of the tumors that had plagued her life for years. Dr. Osborne addressed Sahadeo’s severe neurofibromatosis on the show, telling her that her illness was “encroaching on some dangerous territory” and she needed immediate care.
He explained that eliminating each tumor posed a risk of infection, requiring considerable vigilance throughout multi-session treatments. Nonetheless, he proceeded the two-month-long process of eliminating thousands of tumors, which required many surgeries.
Dr. Osborne explained that the speed of surgery depends on the patient’s willingness to tolerate pain during each stage.
Dr Osborne said: “You’re not going to feel anything during the surgery. It’s when you wake up. If I took this all off, it would be as if someone skinned you alive and I couldn’t give you enough pain medication to keep you comfortable.”
Despite the pain, Sahadeo was looking at the bigger picture of regaining her self-esteem. Dr Osborne told his patient: “I’ve never done this before…. We’re going to do this together, one step at a time.
“All I can tell you is that I’m going to be here with you the whole way through and whatever happens we’ll figure it out.”
Before beginning the surgery, the medical team encountered a significant challenge: the patient’s tumors covered her veins, making it hard to deliver anesthesia for sedation.
They chose local anesthesia, which numbs only the affected area. Sahadeo then endured a 13-hour surgery while fully conscious.
Dr. Osborne was successful in removing dozens of tumors, including enormous ones on Sahadeo’s face, “Frank” in her mouth, and a large tumor on her leg. Over the next ten weeks, he performed 24 surgeries on Sahadeo, spending 60 hours in the operating room.
Four weeks after her final surgery, back home in Trinidad, Sahadeo stated, “Life is 100 percent better for me.”
Dr. Osborne is in the business of changing people’s lives and frequently shares his work on venues such as YouTube and social media.
“When most doctors see a patient and it’s a complex situation, they just see high risk. I see the opposite of that, which is high impact,” he said on his Instagram.
“It’s an opportunity for me to have a huge impact on that patient’s life. I went into medicine to help people.
“Once I make a human connection with a patient, I don’t have a choice — I’m going to do the case.”