An 8-year-old boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo died during a surgery to remove a facial tumor in Los Angeles, the group who sponsored him announced Saturday.
The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation said Matadi Sela Petit suffered a rare reaction to anesthesia and died Friday night.
The group, founded by retired NBA player Dikembe Mutombo, who is Congolese-American, said it sponsored the child along with other partners so that he could travel to L.A. and undergo surgery.
According to the foundation, Matadi was born with a cleft lip and a facial tumor that grew as he got older.
“We flew the young boy from CongoDRC with a large tumor on his face —who has been shunned by society to LA so he could be operated on by OSBORNE HEAD&NECK INSTITUTE,” the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation said in an Instagram post on Dec. 12. The video post shows Mutombo welcoming the boy at the Los Angeles International Airport.
In a follow-up statement announcing the boy’s death, the foundation said:
“Matadi and his father were welcomed with open arms by Dr. [Ryan] Osborne, his team and the Cedars Sinai Hospital family as well as the Ronald McDonald House where he won everyone’s heart with his open and friendly attitude… He was a pioneer, and his memory will inspire us to continue to develop efforts and partnerships to improve the lives of the children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Cedars-Sinai said it could not comment on the case due to patient privacy laws.