WWE's Big Show Tells Story of Having Brain Surgery at 19

Everyone wants to grow up to be big and strong, but thanks to his acromegaly, Big Show's growing phase would have never ended if not for surgical intervention.

Like Andre the Giant and The Great Khali, Big Show's a tumor on his pituitary gland produced too much growth hormone. During an appearance on Hot 97, the future WWE Hall of Famer shared the memory of his acromegaly diagnosis that needed surgery to fix when he was only 19.

If left alone, acromegaly can be fatal as it leads to enlarged organs early in life. Big Show says that he was diagnosed when he was playing college basketball at Wichita State. Soon after, the former WWE Champion underwent the procedure.

"I think maybe they were doing it in the 60s and 70s, but here's the thing; the pituitary gland is located under the front lobe of the brain. If you were to go straight through the nose and straight through the ear where those two lines intersect, that's where the pituitary gland is - in that bone pocket so it's basically brain surgery," he said.

"They have to go in, chip out that little pocket of bone, with a laser, cut the tumor and hopefully not damage the pituitary gland because the pituitary gland runs so many senses: your eye moisture, tear ducts, nasal passages and your testosterone… it's like a governor for so many things in your body that - that surgery sometimes, if not done properly can damage other things so then you're on medication the rest of your life just to try and be normal. So I got really lucky and everything turned out. One of the bad side effects to Acromegaly is it leads to diabetes and a lot of things if not corrected so I got lucky with it. I still have to pay attention to it," said Big Show.

Big Show said that doctors told him his life would likely run out by the time he was 45 if he avoided the surgery. Luckily, he listened to friends, family, and doctors, and now is still a WWE Superstar at the age of 46.

[H/T Fightful]