![\"Armella\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/84e1a9fb74d3c9228eb0bf6c528d4738-1760529380.jpg\")
Mercy Ships via SuppliedArmella\u2019s tumour continued to grow in size. Mercy Ships via Supplied<\/p>\nA surgeon from Aberdeen has performed a life-changing surgery to remove a tumour the \u201csize of a grapefruit\u201d from a two-year-old girl on board a hospital ship.<\/p>\n
Manjit Dhillon, a surgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, used her annual leave to volunteer at Mercy Ships, a Christian international healthcare charity.<\/p>\n
While on board, she helped Armella, a two-year-old from Madagascar, by removing a benign tumour weighing 280g from behind her ear.<\/p>\n
Without the surgery, the tumour would have continued to grow, putting pressure on the toddler\u2019s neck and head.<\/p>\n
\u2018Life-changing\u2019<\/p>\n
When Armella was born, her parents noticed a painless tangerine-sized lump behind her ear that continued to grow steadily.<\/p>\n
Caessah, Armella\u2019s mum, said that adults and children would stare at her daughter when they met her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people met her, they stared at her,\u201d she said. \u201cChildren also stared at her. She might get rejected a lot when she grew up. I just wanted my child to be ok. This was the only thing that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Armella and her family, from Toamasina, couldn\u2019t afford to see a doctor or pay for surgery, they said all they could do was \u201cpray\u201d.<\/p>\n
To the family\u2019s delight, floating hospital the Africa Mercy sailed to Madagascar, equipped with five operating theatres, state-of-the-art medical facilities and a team of specialist volunteer crew, and booked Armella in for free surgery.<\/p>\n
Mercy Ships via SuppliedArmella\u2019s tumour continued to grow in size. Mercy Ships via Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mass was causing her ear to be deformed,\u201d explained Manjit, a consultant surgeon in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery who uses her annual leave to volunteer with Mercy Ships.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was quite a weight so she would posture her head to the left side and over time, as the mass would have grown, she would have struggled to keep her head upright because of the weight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surgery only took a few hours, but the outcome is life-changing for Armella.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout this surgery, she would have struggled to hold her head up and would have lived on the fringes of society. Now she can enjoy going to school without getting picked on. She\u2019s saved from a lifetime of injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Healthy recovery\u2019<\/p>\n
After the surgery, Armella was reunited with her family safe and well, and remained on the ship until her wound healed.<\/p>\n
Manjit said the only hiccup in her recovery was interrupting the two-year-old from \u201cplaying and colouring in\u201d to check on her wound.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter surgery, I remember seeing her on the ward rounds,\u201d laughed Manjit. \u201cShe was happily sitting on the floor playing and colouring in.<\/p>\n
![\"Armella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fd7449e6c0c5603bf4463130f53d4ae3-1760529366.jpg\")
Mercy Ships via SuppliedArmella made a full and healthy recovery. Mercy Ships via Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to interrupt her to check her wound and I remember her not being happy about that, because her colouring was very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
After making a full recovery and leaving the hospital ship, Armella and Caessah returned home where they were welcomed back with \u201csurprise and delight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercy Ships is a blessing, a light and a rescue for me and my child,\u201d says Caessah. \u201cWhen she had that condition, I suffered with her. When she recovered, I recovered too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now back home, Armella can play happily with other children, looking forward to years of healthy life ahead and the freedom to go to school.<\/p>\n
If it wasn\u2019t for the surgery, her dad dreads to think what could have happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would have been bullied and mocked by other kids. She would have had a difficult time in school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Over 7,500 life-changing surgical procedures have taken place on the Africa Mercy during its time in Madagascar.<\/p>\n
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