Novemthree Siahaan (3 November 1998 – 14 September 2005) was an Indonesian boy who had the rare condition gigantiform cementoma. According to the Financial Times, he had "the largest recorded facial tumour". The story of his life garnered much media attention when he was taken to Taiwan for treatment. His surgeries were filmed for international broadcast on the Discovery Health Channel. Siahaan was from Batam Island, Indonesia.
Media
Novemthree's story was shared on the Discovery Health Channel in 2005. Channel 5 covered Siahaan in a story titled "Extraordinary People: The Boy with a Tumour for a Face". He was profiled by the BBC.
Novemthree's condition was brought to the attention of David Liu, a missionary for the Tsu Chi Foundation in Taiwan. Seeing the seriousness of the boys tumor growths, Liu arranged for Novemthree and his father to be flown to Tsu Chi to begin treatments in early 2003. After four painful operations, Novemthree's face was reconstructed to resemble that of a normal boy. After learning how to talk, walk and eat, he and his father returned home in summer. It was originally felt that surgeries every year or two would keep the tumors manageable until Novemthree was grown and bone grafts could be performed. A year later, Novemthree's tumors had grown back at an alarming rate and his breathing became restricted. Doctors brought him back to Tsu Chi where it was decided that a permanent tracheotomy would be required which would be difficult to maintain in the unsanitary conditions of his village. Novemthree would require more painful operations which would result in facial skin dying and his appearance once again would become distorted. His mother returned with him to Batam to give consideration of this with his dad. A few weeks later as his mother was bringing him breakfast she discovered he died early on September 15, 2005. Tsu Chi paid for his burial.
Since Novemthree's death, his parents gave birth to two more sons. They and his brother Saut did not develop the same illness that plagued their oldest sibling. The family of five still live in the same impoverished apartment in Batam. Novemthree's pink panther doll still hangs in the room he used to sleep in with brother Saut.
References
- ^ French, Karl (10 April 2006). "Critics Choice Television Karl French". Financial Times. p. 14. ProQuest 249893990.
- 范振和 (2 April 2004). "切除腫瘤 印尼男童安度危機 艱鉅挑戰 國際媒體關注 慈濟醫療團隊開刀七小時 未出現大量失血" [Removal of tumor, Indonesian boy is in crisis. Difficult challenge, international media attention, Tzu Chi medical team operated for seven hours without massive blood loss]. United Daily News (in Chinese). p. B4.
- 范振和 (6 April 2004). "印尼男童諾文狄 手術後良好" [Indonesian boy Novemthree well after surgery]. United Daily News (in Chinese). p. B4.
- 林碧玉 (2020). 人醫仁醫：打造醫療桃花源 [Compassionate Doctor: Creating a Paradise for Medical Treatment] (in Chinese). Taiwan: 如是文化. ISBN 978-986-550-642-1. Retrieved 5 December 2021.