A team of doctors in St. Petersburg, Florida, amputated a teenage girl’s 174-pound left leg, effectively putting an end to a medical phenomenon that made the teen’s bottom limbs incredibly lop-sided from one another.
The teen, Jasmine Ramirez, is now recovering after going through a 17-hour surgical procedure at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital that put an end to a rare condition that Ramirez struggled with for most of her life, Tampa Bay 28 reported. Doctors told the teen it was so uncommon it had no formal name. Doctors have dubbed the growth a lymphomatous tumor instead.
Jasmine’s family explained the nature of the teen’s condition to the outlet. “Her legs were pretty normal up until she turned around two years old. My parents started realizing that her left leg was kind of growing a bit more larger than the other,” said Anastashia Carrasquillo, Ramirez’s older sister. (RELATED: Surgeon Pleads Guilty To Insurance Fraud After Amputating Own Legs For Sexual Fetish)
The first time you look at this picture, your mind almost refuses to believe it. You wonder if the image is altered, if your eyes are playing tricks on you… but it’s real. This is Jasmine. This is her life. And this is the battle her family has carried in silence for 12 long… pic.twitter.com/GnUntmGsZo
— Crazy Vibes (@CrazyVibes_1) December 4, 2025
But more recently, an infection on her leg was threatening her life.
“My dad always told Jasmine if it came down to your life or your leg, we would choose your life so they took the chance and thankfully and thank God that it went well, you know, 17 hours, we were all worried sick, waiting in the waiting room,” Carrasquillo told Tampa Bay 28.
Her family says the operation was a life-saving choice, but a difficult one to make, according to Jasmine’s father, Manuel Ramirez. https://t.co/Tf3cKq8H4O
— ABC7 Sarasota (@mysuncoast) December 23, 2025
Jasmine’s leg had presented certain challenges. “We had to tailor and alter clothes for her because obviously her one leg is about, you know, five times smaller than the other one…shoes, we had to get two different pairs of shoes,” recalled Carrasquillo.
Jasmine is currently “coming to terms” with the fact that she only has one leg left, the sister said. The family expressed gratitude for the help and prayers of others.
“We just want people to know how strong Jasmine is and how courageous and how kind she is, you know. She’s a sweet girl…she didn’t deserve this. No kid ever deserves this, but she has challenges and she has pushed through and we want people to know the story of her strength and her courageousness and we also want her story to get out there,” Carrasquillo continued.