In a rare surgery, doctors at a city hospital removed a 10-kg tumour from the abdomen of a 42-year-old anaemic woman, who apparently weighed 47 kg before operation.

In a rare surgery, doctors at a city hospital removed a 10-kg tumour from the abdomen of a 42-year-old anaemic woman, who apparently weighed 47 kg before operation.

The patient was unable to walk and was extremely weak with very poor general condition. The patient, who had been afflicted with the effects of the tumour for the past eight months, in a clinical examination revealed a large retro-peritoneal mass with restricted mobility. Moreover, she was anaemic, with the abdomen CT scan showing a 30X25X25 cm mass extending from pelvis to the liver, occupying the entire abdomen and affecting the bowel movement and compressing the ureter.

Oncologist Dr. Amit R. Gandhi of the Vertex Hospital who performed the operation said it was rare for a tumour to grow up to 10 kgs. “It is one of the largest recorded tumour that was successfully removed. We had to counsel the woman as she initially refused for surgery,” said Gandhi.

“The tumour was stuck to the retro-peritoneum that involves the psoas muscle. Though it was attached to four sensitive areas, we safeguarded the important blood vessels and vital organs before proceeding with our attempt at removing it. The patient’s pre-op weight was 47 kgs and post-op weight is 37 kgs,” added Gandhi.

Stating that the patient was fine and doing all her work independently, Gandhi said, “She can now walk without aid. We are awaiting the report on the tumour, so as to ascertain if it was benign or malignant. But, mostly, it is malignant and looks to be leiomyosarcoma, a tumour arising from the muscles.”

Gandhi said though the chance of recurrence of the tumour was low, as it had been removed in one block without it being ruptured, “she will have to undergo chemotherapy.”