Teen with Rare Tumor Gets Marathon Facial Surgery Delivering Results in 7 Hours Instead of Several Years

February 19, 2025 journo

From left oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Chi Viet, patient Bryce Yamate, and head and neck surgeon, Dr. Paul Walker – credit: Loma Linda U.

“I’m really excited to eat Korean fried chicken again,” said Bruce Yamate, a California teen who, after undergoing a marathon surgery, has a whole new reason to smile again.

At 16 years old, Yamate would probably be focused on hanging out with his friends, finishing up high school, maybe chasing a girl or two—even thinking about college, but it was something else entirely that captured his attention last year.

A bump in his mouth that had shifted one of his teeth quickly revealed itself as ameloblastoma, a rare and aggressive tumor of the oral cavity that threatened to erode away his jawbone, and with it, his ability to chew food, smile, and kiss the girls he might have been chasing.

“We found that Bryce’s tumor had begun to cause significant damage to his jaw,” said the renowned maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Chi Viet, who would become part of Yamate’s treatment team. “Surgery was needed to completely remove the tumor so that it does not continue to disfigure not just his bite, but also his facial profile.”

It was determined the Yamate would undergo a remarkable marathon surgery known as the “Jaw in a Day” procedure, for which Dr. Viet is one of the only physicians in the country capable of performing.

The procedure involves two lead surgeons: one to remove the tumor, and another to harvest bone from the patient’s fibula—the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg—which is used to reconstruct the jaw and dental configuration once the tumor is removed. Dental implants would be used as necessary to replace the lost teeth.

Typically these varied procedures would be spread out over a year, but thanks to advances in surgical precision and 3D printing, it can be condensed into a single day.

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Dr. Viet removed the tumor while colleague Dr. Paul Walker at Loma Linda University Health (LLHU) worked on the leg.

“We don’t just transplant the bone,” Walker said. “We also connect the blood vessels from the fibula to those in the neck. It’s a self-transplant.”

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The surgery was a complete success and has left Yamate excited to eat solid, crunchy food again, but also with a different perspective on things.

“It taught me to live every moment to the fullest,” he told LLHU news. “You never know when things can change, and you have to enjoy life, even when it’s hard.”

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