Tallest man in Brazil to undergo surgery to amputate his right leg

Considered the tallest man in the country by RankBrasil, which records national records, Joélisson Fernandes da Silva, from Paraíba, will undergo surgery this Tuesday night (7) for amputation of his right leg. The operation is needed because of osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone caused by bacteria or fungi.

Known as Ninão, he is 2.37 meters tall and weighs 200 kilos. “I’m already here [no hospital], in that anxiety, but I know it will be a good thing for me and for my health. I’m very calm,” he said on Instagram Stories.

Ninão said that he had been suffering a lot because of the infection, which has lasted for four years and prevents him from walking — he gets around in a wheelchair. Through an internet campaign, his family managed to raise R$149,000, an amount used in pre and postoperative costs and for the purchase of an adapted prosthesis so that he can walk again.

“I really want to have a better quality of life, and that only happens if I have this surgery, because my condition is irreversible,” said Ninão in a video posted on his social networks in early November. “I really want to have this surgery, because there is a great chance to walk again. It’s my dream,” he added.

The gigantism was caused by a brain tumor discovered when he was a teenager, which was removed in surgery in 2007.

Before the infection, Ninão used to participate in television programs. It was at Eliana, on the Silvio Santos program and also the subject of a report on Mais Você, by Ana Maria Braga, on Globo.