Man with a ‘penis on his face’ has life transformed after chance meeting

A man who spent six years with what looked like a penis on his face had his nose transformed after a chance meeting.

A chance meeting changed the life of Conrado Estrada who spent six years with a debilitating condition. His surgeon, Dr Thomas Romo, 62, tells the incredible story.

I’d hired a man Conrado Estrada to paint my house and with a single glance I could see there was something wrong with his face.

It looks like there’s a penis on his nose, I thought, approaching him.

But, on closer inspection, I realised that I’d seen this condition before.

By chance, I’m the director of facial plastic reconstructive surgery in a hospital in the US and I knew that this man had a skin condition called rhinophyma, a progressive condition that causes thickened, pimpled and pitted skin at the tip of the nose due to enlarged oil glands. And this man’s case looked severe.

His nose had grown so bulbous and long that it covered his mouth and reached all the way down to his bottom lip.

Painter Conrado Estrada had the condition rhinophyma which made him look like he had a penis on his face. Picture: Supplied.

“I’m a doctor,” I explained as I went over to introduce myself to him.

I learned he’d spent the past six years seeing different doctors and skin specialists.

“No-one has a solution for me,” he sighed.

I assured him that although rhinophyma was an extremely rare condition through surgery, it could be shrunk. Conrado’s eyes lit up at hearing of a possible solution.

“It’s hard for me to eat and breathe,” he told me. “And people stare at me all the time.”

I knew the way the American healthcare system was – someone like Conrado, who wasn’t rich, would have no chance of getting treated in a public hospital, and he couldn’t afford a private clinic.

“I’m going to help you,” I said without hesitation.

“Are you joking?” Conrado asked.

But I was deadly serious – I would do his reconstructive surgery for free. Outside of work, I also run the Little Baby Face Foundation, a charity which provides facial surgery to undeserved children. I wanted to extend that to Conrado, too.

I asked my wife, Diane, to organise an appointment for him. Then my team at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan took photos of his face and did the paperwork and preliminary tests.

PConrado Estrada was often stared at by strangers. Picture: Supplied.

He was finding it hard to breathe and eat. Picture: Supplied.

In late December, weeks after we’d met, Conrado came in for the operation.

“We’re going to take care of you,” I said, knowing this was the best Christmas gift I could possibly give the sweet man.

Over three-and-a-half hours, I cut away the damaged skin until I was down to the cartilage of the shape of the nose.

When he woke up in recovery, I went to see him.

“Did it work?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, of course,” I replied.

Dr Thomas Romo at work on Conrado’s nose. Picture: Supplied.

Dr Thomas Romo provides facial surgery for people in need. Picture: Supplied.

While there was a chance the glands might regrow a little, he certainly wouldn’t need active treatment for the next 50 years at least.

One week after the operation, I gently began peeling back the bandages. The nurses held up a mirror so Conrado could see his new face for the first time.

He was so shocked that he began crying.

Painter Conrado Estrada after is nose surgery. Picture: Supplied.

His face was transformed. Picture: Supplied.

“Well done, Dr Romo,” the nurses said.

“Don’t congratulate me,” I told them. “Congratulate Conrado – he’s come so far.”

While I’d performed countless procedures before, my eyes moistened a little seeing how much this had meant to this man.

“Thank you … thank you,” he stammered repeatedly.

As the shock settled and Conrado saw himself in the mirror once more, his face beamed with a smile.

“Now I can go out in public,” he laughed. “You’ve changed my life.”

He kept hugging me and telling the nurses and other patients that I was the angel who had saved his life.

Conrado Estrada was like a new man after his facial surgery. Picture: Supplied.

After that, Conrado’s entire personality changed – I saw a man who was immediately happier, who walked with his head held high and had a sparkle in his eye.

Within four weeks, he was back at work and enjoying the life he’d put on hold for so long.

For me, there is no greater satisfaction than being able to use my skills to improve another person’s quality of life.

Confidence makes a better, and more productive person in society and I want my community to flourish. While I can’t help everyone in the world, if I’m making a change to just one person’s life, then that’s a step towards a better world for us all.

Conrado Estrada, 58, told the New York Post:

“They would stare at me. Children would ask their mothers what happened to me – and I would get around it by using a face mask all the time. It had reached my lips and whenever I took a bite when I ate, that would touch the spoon. I believe God sent an angel to take care of me – and that’s how I see Dr Romo.”

This article originally appeared in Take 5 magazine and has been republished here with permission.