TLC program to feature Austintown’s Ed Port

Staff report

austinTOWN

A cable TV show will chronicle the life and challenges of a local man with large facial tumors caused by a rare genetic condition.

Ed Port of Austintown was born with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes large tumors to grow along nerve shafts. Port has undergone many surgeries to correct the condition as a child and adult, but the tumors remain.

Port and another man with the same condition identified as Aum will be featured on the TLC program “My Giant Face Tumor,” which premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m.

The show follows the two men and Dr. McKay McKinnon, a renowned cranio-facial surgeon who believes their condition is treatable. He prepares to operate on the two men as they struggle with factors such as medical insurance, weather and emotional upheaval.

The Vindicator has followed Port since 2008.