Body Bizarre: Stunt Bike Tumour Teen Undergoes Surgery

By Emma Pearson @emma_pear

A TEEN stuntbike rider, suffering from a severe facial growth, was so popular for his amazing tricks on the streets of Casablanca he earned the nickname Stunteur Zoubair

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Zoubair's tumour was visible from an early age

Zoubair's tumour was prominent even as a toddler

But Zoubair Lahdodi, 18, had no idea of the danger he faced if he fell from his bike, and that the venous malformation might have ruptured causing severe bleeding.

Zoubair is happiest on his bike - but risked lethal hemorrhage with every trick

Wheelie impressive: Zoubair practices his stunts with his friend

Zoubair had suffered from the malformation since he was a small boy, due to expansion of his blood vessels, and his lips and tongue were pushed outwards.

Doctors put a camera into Zoubair's nose to investigate what their dealing with

So far, Zoubair has had two successful surgeries to remove part of his lower lip and tongue, and is expected to have further operations to cut away more of the dangerous malformation.

Zoubair's mum, Aicha, flew to New York with her son for the sugery

Now the teenager has travelled from his home in Casablanca, Morocco, to New York, for life-saving vascular plastic surgery to remove the growth and allow him to get back on his bike.

Zoubair goes under the knife in New York

Zoubair said: “Some people laugh at me but they shouldn’t see my deformity, they should see what’s in my head.”

Aicha, Zoubair’s mother, said: “I wish I could see him in a better situation. This is what I wish from God.

Zoubair has already had two ops at the Lenox Hill Hospital

“When he sees his face in the mirror he says, ‘Mama, if only it was less swollen I wouldn’t have a problem’.”

Zoubair’s father, Abderrahmane, a taxi driver, was unable to pay for his son to fly to America for the potentially life-saving surgery.

But the Waner Foundation, a charity which helps children in need of life-changing surgeries, brought Zoubair to New York to be treated by vascular plastic surgeon Dr Milton Waner and his team at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.

Zoubair was given a tracheostomy to prevent the tumours closing off his windpipe

Currently Zoubair has problems sleeping, eating, breathing and talking

Dr Waner, said: “He has a particularly severe venous malformation and unfortunately his malformation is not compatible with a normal lifespan.

“When I saw the video of him stunt cycling, I was absolutely horrified because any bump could result in a terminal haemorrhage.

“He could be very quickly overwhelmed and drown in his own blood.

“He has a high risk for bleeding, he has a high risk for spontaneous haemorrhage without me even touching him, so Zoubair is, I have to say, a walking time bomb, so we really have to get on and do his treatment.”

Zoubair's life-threatening growth is due to an expansion of blood vessels in his face

Before the surgeries, Zoubair struggled with eating, sleeping, speaking and even breathing, but he hopes that after treatment he will be able to live a normal life.

During the first procedure, the teenager lost a dangerous amount of blood after a blood vessel burst – leaving him in intensive care for ten days.

But despite the risks, Zoubair is grateful for the treatment he has received in America.

He said: “I never expected this. It’s overwhelming. I thank the people who brought me here.”