Man With Rare 6-Pound Facial Tumor Reveals New Look After 'Life-Changing' Surgery

An Idaho man born with a rare facial tumor underwent a "life-changing" surgery last October and is now speaking out about looking forward to a new, pain-free life.

Lucas McCulley, 23, of Nampa, Idaho, said he has recovered from the seven-hour procedure that extracted the 6-pound lymphangioma tumor from the side of his face, leaving him virtually pain-free. He explained during a recent interview that he has also noticed a significant change in his demeanor.

"It feels like I have got a new life, people that know me close say there's a new shine to my personality and you can just tell a difference when I talk and am interacting," McCully told KTVB, an NBC affiliate in Idaho. "I'm happy feeling better and not in pain all the time."

McCully lost his medical insurance when he turned 18 and was unable to apply for aid, according to KTBV. So, the 23-year-old used crowdfunding to generate funds for his surgery with a GoFundMe account that garnered over $115,000. He said the procedure has changed his quality of life.

"With all the pain I had before, I really don't have that pain at all now. I don't wake up with it. I don't go to sleep with it. I can sleep through the night without waking up," he told the outlet. "I do new activities like swimming without pain…It's a whole different world."

Dr. Gregory Levitin, a surgeon at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in Manhattan, removed 80 percent of the mass but left behind a "shelf of tumor" to support McCully's right eye and prevent potential blindness, he told the "Today" show.

"[People will say] ‘The face looks amazing, but how about that eye?’ Well, he can still see out of that eye and he was not willing to take any risk of losing that vision to try to make the eye socket look more normal. That’s really Lucas' call," Levitin said.

McCully had four surgeries before the age of 10 and doctors told him they had to wait until young adulthood for subsequent operations. Meanwhile, McCully experienced complications such as blurred vision and a burst eardrum.

"In some ways he has stopped thinking about his old life and he has really changed into a new person," Levitin said. "The type of things I have noticed with Lucas is he just has a brightness to him, I see a sense of confidence, I really see a different person."

After the surgery, McCully moved out of his mother's home and into an apartment, which he shares with his dog.