Man’s desperate search for life-changing facial surgery

A man with severe deformities is hoping to raise money to fund life-changing facial surgery. Xia Yuanhai is a 53-year-old man who lives in Laotu village in Chongqing, southwestern China. His facial proportions were normal when he was younger, but he suddenly developed facial hyperplasia – excessive tissue enlargement – as an adult. According to his 66-year-old brother Xia Yuanchang, the hyperplasia came on very gradually, and treatment would have been extremely expensive. Because of this, the family didn’t realise how severe Xia’s problem was, and so didn’t seek medical help when he was younger. Now, many years later, the hyperplasia has completely deformed Xia’s face – crushing his teeth and almost destroying his sense of hearing completely. Xia, along with his brother, is now attempting to raise enough funds to get the ground-breaking operation.