KIRKLAND, Wash. -- The man who once had half a face now has whole new look.

After decades of dealing with a disfigurement, James O'Neal no longer wanted to be the man everyone stares at.

Kind donations helped him pay for reconstructive surgeries, and he let KOMO News accompany him to the operating room.

So for a second time, KOMO News watched as surgeons reconstructed James' face.

"His nose is going to look awesome," said Dr. Peter Neligan.

For a lifetime, a massive cluster of benign tumors has grown on James' face. The tumors were so heavy they moved his nose and mouth, making breathing difficult.

Last November, surgeons tried to tackle that tumor, but excessive bleeding forced them to cut the surgery short. But Dr. Neligan and a team of surgeons at the University of Washington Medical Center were confident the second operation would give James what he wanted.

James recorded a video diary before his first surgery.

"Just a little bit of improvement would be nice," he said.

Instead of the guy everyone stares at, James wanted to be the person no one notices.

"That he can go some place and not hear a comment -- that's huge," said his best friend, Ray. " What makes him is what's inside, a lot of people don't give him the chance to show that."

I first met James a year and a half ago. His tumor weighed 11 pounds then, but you'd never know it bothered him.

I found him in the checkout aisle at Safeway. He loves people and wanted a job working with the public.

"Can you share with me how it is that you fit in so beautifully in a world that is so critical?" I asked him.

"I just tell people, 'This is who I am; it's the way I am. If you don't like me, you don't like me,'" he said.

Despite his outward confidence, customer Katie Knopf learned that James secretly yearned for reconstructive surgery.

"We want to change his life," she said.

When viewers saw my interview with James, support poured in.

Katie started a fundraiser. Safeway donated first, and the Problem Solvers Fund swelled. Together we've raised more than $200,000.

And Dr. Neligan donated his magic hands.

"It's a potentially dangerous place to be operating," he said.

The surgery is tricky. The thick, spongy tissue is prone to bleeding. The normal landmarks in the face are not obvious, and Dr. Neligan has to feel his way.

Five hours into the second surgery, Dr. Neligan and his team were feeling really good about the results. For the first time, the definition in James' face was obvious. And the symmetry that he's wanted for nearly 30 years was starting to come out.

Remember James' nose was pushed to the side? To straighten it, Dr. Neligan used a tendon from James' leg to anchor it in place. He used the same technique to reposition James' mouth.

"Perfect!" Dr. Neligan said. "He looks so different."

More than seven hours later, the surgery ended successfully. James was then wheeled off to the intensive care unit to recover.

And when he woke up, he looked like a different person.

"I didn't recognize myself when I first saw it," James said.

For the first time in decades, he can see both sides of his face.

Since the surgery, he's gotten used to his new cheek and chin, and even his ear, which the tumor had stretched like an old sweater.

"I look in the mirror many times a day," he said. "I like the nose -- I like that best. I can actually breathe out of both nostrils, that's nice. I like that."

And he feels happier and more confident.

'I think I look amazing, but what do I know?" he said.

His outer beauty now truly matches what's on the inside.

Because the tumors will never stop growing, James will have to undergo minor procedures every three to five years. The remaining donations will fund those procedures.

James is overwhelmed by others' generosity, and says he's determined to pay it forward by helping others.

The Learning Channel, inspired by KOMO's reports, plans to air a special segment on James O'Neal on Nov. 22.