A father of three from Madagascar can sleep comfortably on his back for the first time in 15 years after having a large tumour removed by surgical charity Mercy Ships.
The tumour weighed 5kgs.
Fidisoa, a builder and rice farmer, was 38-years-old when what looked to be a small pimple on his back began to expand, first into a lump, then into the size of a fist.
It continued to grow until he appeared to be carrying a bag beneath his shirt.
Fidisoa struggled to do the high amount of manual labour required for his job by the age of 53, and lying on his back was unpleasant for him.
Despite his best efforts to get the tumour removed, he used his life savings to pay for three surgeries at hospitals in his own country in 2015, 2018, and 2021, and the tumour simply grew back.
“The first surgery was 600,000 Ariary (about R2,472) since the tumour was comparatively smaller then. The second surgery was 1,300,000 Ariary (around R5,311) and the third surgery was 5,000,000 Ariary (about R22,893). The first and second surgeries were paid for, using all the money I had worked and saved over the years,” he said.
Following that, in order to pay for his third operation in 2021, Fidisoa took on a new contract abroad to raise the remaining funds, which he spent entirely on therapy.
Fidisoa, a family man with three children aged five, 22, and 25, felt compelled to continue working hard in the fields and providing for his loved ones despite the fact that he was in bodily agony and struggling to stay active.
Hope finally arrived in the shape of a news announcement stating that worldwide organisation Mercy Ships was offering free operations for conditions.
Dr Tertius Venter, a volunteer reconstructive plastics surgeon from South Africa, was part of the team who operated on Fidisoa in a back hibernoma excision.
He stated that the benign tumour, a delicate lobular fibroma was now gone for good. Previous procedures resulted in recurrence because not all aberrant tissue was removed.
“In his case, we spent quite a lot of time because it (abnormal tissue) also infiltrated into his muscles, so we had to go thoroughly and find every bit and remove it as far we could. We have removed it completely now,” said Dr. Venter.