Saturday, March 8, 2008
Medical → Mark Tatum... "the man without a face"
Mark Tatum (1956 - 26 February 2005) was an American man from Kentucky, who became known as "the man without a face" after he became in 2000 the victim of a very aggressive facial fungal infection (Rhinocerebral Mucormycosis). To save his life, doctors had to remove his eyes, nose, upper jaw and all surrounding bone and tissue which meant that he literally lost his face.
Tatum was a medical phenomena due to the fact that he survived the infection. Later he got a prosthetic face and he underwent surgeries so he could eat, drink and speak again. Due to his extreme experience, Tatum was highly profiled in the media (Ripley's Believe it or Not). He was a courageous individual who served as a symbol of strength for the thousands of people who have lost their health.
Rhinocerebral phycomycosis, commonly referred to as mucormycosis, is a rare but serious opportunistic infection of the sinuses and brain caused by saprophytic fungi. No reports document survivors of mucormycosis before 1955. (Amphotericin (anti-fungal antibiotic) became available in the 1950s.) Survival rates among groups of patients with invasive sinus disease without cerebral involvement may be as high as 50-80%. The mainstay of therapy is extensive debridement of all infected and necrotic tissue.
Your Comments
| Cezar |
| 6th picture down.. "Daaaa bears... daaaaa bears... daaaaaa... bulls" |
| 2012-01-31 05:10:52 |
| serpentine |
| mark tatum far out what courage and blessed with a woman who stands buy you |
| 2012-01-04 05:47:37 |
| Gandalf |
| Jonathan, God was simply calling the others home. Don't question why he chooses to let some live and why he lets others die. God has his own special plan for each of us. |
| 2011-12-21 02:52:25 |
| pubichairsoup |
| Holy crap!!! |
| 2011-11-14 13:54:01 |
| jonathan |
| @ this girl.. your survival was simply chance... to think that god would grant you the chance to survive this ordeal without any scaring and let others die, or be left with horrendous scars or blindness is just arrogant... and if it was god, then why spare you and not the man above? why did god choose to leave him with no face and you not... what a inconsistent prick he/she/it/they must be... however, its astonishing this man was able to survive, and its amazing you did as well. |
| 2011-11-07 08:09:40 |
| nunya |
| the last picture is of a man whose face was shot off. |
| 2011-10-18 17:23:21 |
| selene |
| how can he breathe? |
| 2011-10-11 08:51:29 |
| The Sarge |
| That is one seriously dashing moustache though |
| 2011-10-09 03:57:37 |
| ken |
| He survived because of true love of his wife"""" |
| 2011-09-22 09:34:42 |
| This girl |
| I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes January 17,2001. My mother found me unconcious in the bath tub and eventually took me to the hospital(crazy-brazillian woman was convinced I would "come around" on my own!) when I woke up in the hospital bed my left eye was so swollen I couldn't open it all. I was released from the hospital a few days later only to be called back in, three days following my discharge, due to the results of the culture they had taken. |
| 2011-07-26 12:13:59 |
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