Grace, 17, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, faced eventual suffocation and had hidden herself from the outside world due to her appearance.

Her local hospital was unable to help her but her case was taken up by a Christian pastor who got her aboard a floating hospital called the Africa Mercy.

The ship is part of a group called the Mercy Ships which travel around the world performing medical procedures for those who are too poor or isolated to receive adequate treatment.

The four-hour operation involved moving the teenager’s tumor and replacing her lower jaw with titanium plates, leaving her appearance immeasurably improved. The experience has left Grace with a burning desire to study medicine.

Before and after:

Kind of puts one’s own problems into perspective…

Mercy Ships on TLC‘s Body Bizarre via Huffington Post.