Girl Has Rare Tumor Removed Thanks To Innovative Surgery

Dec 28, 2021 by apost team

A baby from Fort Lauderdale is recovering from a necessary surgery to help with a large growth that covered the majority of her face. Luna was born in March 2019 with an unusual growth on her face that had the potential to become a serious problem. It appeared as if she had a large birthmark that resembled the Batman signal shape, but the condition had the potential to be quite serious.

Luna's mother, Carolina Fenner, has been taking all of the necessary steps to help her baby get the treatment that she needs. They traveled to a few states within the United States, searching for proper care to remove the skin condition mark. While it didn't pose an immediate effect on Luna's health, there was a possibility for the benign skin condition to become malignant later on with a high risk of developing into cancer-based on a number of different factors. 

Luna was also already starting to receive some bullying from others, resulting in Fenner wanting to do something to help her daughter live the best life possible. Taking all of those factors into consideration, it was clear that Luna's surgery was necessary.

At just seven months old, Luna traveled from Florida all the way to Russia to receive the innovative surgery to help with her skin condition known as a congenital melanocytic nevus. Following the surgery, Luna has since received plenty of follow-up treatments and is in the recovery process, waiting for her skin to heal. Read on to find out more about this amazing young girl and the innovative surgery she received.

Through various social media platforms, Fenner is doing her part to show her daughter's journey as she gets a rare skin marking condition removed from her face through innovative surgeries, treatments, and a lengthy recovery process. The journey has already taken some time, but Fenner and Luna are hopeful that they will get the results they long for. 

Fenner uploaded her first YouTube video in March 2021 and is also extremely active on Instagram, giving her followers and supporters of Luna constant updates on the young girl's condition. Along with documenting Luna's journey online, Fenner has also helped spread awareness about Luna's skin condition and what processes they have taken so far and still need to take to give Luna the best life possible.

In September 2019, Good Morning America reported that Luna and Fenner traveled to Russia in the hopes of starting treatments to remove the tumor-like growth on Luna's face. The child was born with a congenital melanocytic nevus. According to MedlinePlus, this is a skin condition characterized by an abnormally dark, noncancerous skin patch known as the nevus that is composed of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. It is either present at birth or very noticeable shortly after birth. 

Some people with giant congenital melanocytic nevus can develop a condition called neurocutaneous melanosis. According to MedlinePlus, this is the presence of pigment-producing skin cells in the tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord. These skin cells can be spread out or grouped together, and their growth can lead to serious health issues and complications. 

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In order to remedy the situation before it grew serious, Fenner took Luna to Russia to receive a necessary non-invasive surgical procedure from surgeon-oncologist Dr. Pavel Borisovich Popov, according to Good Morning America. Fenner explained that she had a healthy pregnancy, and no signs of Luna's skin condition were picked up. She even had 4-D ultrasound taken, but still, no signs of any skin condition were discovered.

"I was in shock when I saw her and the doctor didn't know what was (it was)," Fenner said, speaking about Luna's birth. She explained that the young girl was hospitalized for six days after birth, with doctors running plenty of tests before concluding that she had a congenital melanocytic nevus that was fortunately benign.

Despite Luna's congenital melanocytic nevus being found to be benign, there were still concerns for potential dangers to develop later on. According to MedlinePlus, the pigment-producing skin cells' growth found in conditions similar to Luna's can cause increased pressure in the brain, leading to anything from headaches, vomiting, irritability, and movement problems, to other serious issues such as seizures or even tumors developing in the brain.

Although the nevus may be small at first, it typically grows at the same rate that the rest of the infant's body grows, reaching at least 15.75 inches across. It also can range in color and texture and can even change over time. While MedlinePlus reported that this condition is usually found on the trunk or limbs, Luna's skin condition was found stretched across her face.

"I decided to do the surgery especially because of the bullying," Fenner said. "I started seeing people pointing at Luna on the street, asking me, 'Is that contagious?' It was so bad." Fenner continued, "People in this society (are) not prepared for a different (condition) like Luna has. She's still going to have marks on her face after the surgery, (but) I'm going to teach her how to deal with people."

On top of that, Fenner hopes that her efforts in sharing Luna's story and spreading awareness through her social media platforms and website will help increase understanding and compassion for people with conditions similar to Luna's, according to Local 10 News. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that, but I'm trying," Fenner said.

Although Luna isn't experiencing any bad health issues at the moment, Fenner explained that the nevus will bother her later on in life if it is not removed. She said:

"There is no side effect. If we don't remove it with the surgeries, with time, it will bother (her) a lot. There's a lot of hair on top of the nevus, so I've been cutting the hair on her face every five, six days."

Shailee B. Patel, a board-certified dermatologist, and cutaneous surgeon, also explained the importance of getting Luna's skin condition mark removed. "It is important to have the lesion classified because there is an increased risk of melanoma (skin cancer) associated with an increase in size," she said. "The overall risk of developing melanoma is 2-3% in giant congenital nevi."

In an effort to help remove the tumor-like growth on Luna's face, Fenner sought out treatments in places all across the United States. According to Good Morning America, she searched for options in Chicago, Boston, New York, and places in her home state of Florida. After she and her husband Thiago landed on a possibility in New York, their plans fell through, as health insurance companies claimed that they would only pay for one surgery in the state of Florida.

Just when it seemed like the family was going to have to go back to the drawing board, something amazing happened. Popov reached out to Fenner after he heard about Luna's story. "He called me and he said he has some new procedure, new technology," Fenner said. "It's less invasive. Hre sent me a few pictures of before and after. I was impressed." What really sealed the deal for Fenner was knowing that Popov had a plan – he wanted to do six to eight procedures over the course of a year and a half.

In August 2021, Local 10 News reported that Luna and Fenner were traveling abroad for the fifth time to get another round of treatment for Luna. Each visit lasts several weeks to give ample time to see if the treatments are working. Popov uses laser and skin grafting procedures to remove the marking on Luna's face. "They remove the nevus and after 10 days they do the skin grafts, so they take the skin from some part of her body and put it on the top of it," Fenner explained.

When Fenner first embarked on her mission to help her daughter receive the necessary surgeries and treatments, she realized that she needed to do everything in her power to prioritize Luna and her health. "I stopped my life, you know?" she explained to Local 10 News. While most mothers make their children their first priority, Fenner knew that this was going to be a lengthy process, and she got ready for the journey.

Moving forward with all of the medical procedures, the mother opened up about how challenging everything has been for both her and Luna. "By myself and Luna, taking care of her and the surgeries and the recovery – it's hard," she admitted.

Although Luna was still in the process of having her Batman symbol-looking skin marking removed, the outlines of its shape were still present. Society can be cruel sometimes, especially when it comes to people who may look a little different than what most people may be used to. 

Fenner recalled:

"Like yesterday in the market there was a mother and a little girl and she said, 'Wow, she's ugly. Ewwww,' and start running. So the problem now is she understands so she asks all the time, 'Mom, is she disgusted of me?' That hurts me."

Although Luna is growing old enough to understand when others are being mean or rude toward her, it's clear that she is a brave little girl as she has stayed strong and optimistic through all of the surgeries and stages of recovery. Despite the comments she receives, Luna appears glowing in several of the family's pictures and videos that are shared online.

The mother and daughter duo traveled to Russia again in October 2021, so Luna could receive another round of surgeries and treatments. On Oct. 9, 2021, Fenner posted a photo of Luna on Instagram, showing the young girl with bandages across her face, covering her eyes. However, Luna still looked happy as a button, as she smiled while adorably sticking out her tongue.

The photo's caption read:

"Dear friends, thank you so much for all the messages of love for our Luna. Knowing that she is so loved brings a little peace and hope to my heart. About the surgery, she is doing very well, but with difficulties to see properly because of the bandage. But she hasn't complained of any pain and is already active and very hungry. I haven't slept for more than 40 hours and the first few days are always too heavy for me, but God always sends the strength I need. Thank you for all the prayers. Next week I will post the details about the last surgery and what was done."

On Oct. 11, 2021, Fenner posted another update, giving people more of an idea of how Luna was doing. She posted a screenshot of a YouTube video on her Instagram and said:

"Guys, Luna is doing very well. The doctor removed a lot of what was left of the nevus, including her two eyebrows. Which has been making me think for months about a solution, since she can't do a hair transplant there yet. Anyways, I recorded us at the airport coming to Russia last week and unfortunately we went AGAIN through several bullying situations, including a boy hitting Luna."

Fenner started off the new year by giving more updates about Luna and what her life looks like as of lately. On Jan. 6, 2022, she posted a video of Luna surrounded by her family as everyone celebrated her birthday a couple of months earlier than usual. Fenner explained, "Luna's birthday is in March, but she said she was sad because she never had a party (for two years we spent Mar. 7 in Russia in surgeries). So today we improvised a mini birthday party for our princess."

Fenner is certainly doing all she can to help Luna feel better and beautiful, and even created a line of dolls resembling Luna and wrote a book about their experience. The family currently has a website called Help Luna, where people can purchase products or donate money to help pay for Luna's surgeries and treatments. 

Some of the other products on the site include a mini brush and mirror set, different colored pencil cases, a set of bows, doll keychains, and more. All of the products have Luna's previous markings on them, showing just how beautiful she has always been. There is also another version of the website available.

Luna has already come a very long way in her journey. While she used to have a skin marking condition that could be considered a tumor-like growth and resembled the Batman symbol, she now seems to have very little left of the marking. Once all of the surgeries and treatments are completed, Luna will most likely need additional surgery to help remove the remaining scars on her face. We wish Luna and her family all the best!

Have you ever heard about this young girl’s condition? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones, too.