News

132-Pound Tumor Removed From a Woman's Ovary & Doctors Are Stunned

NewsPublished May 4, 2018
By Meredith Bland
featured-img-of-post-212105Danbury Hospital

In November, a 38-year-old Connecticut woman went to see her gynecologist after experiencing a rapid, unexplained weight gain of about 10 pounds a week for the past two months. She had so much trouble eating that by the time she got to the doctor she was severely malnourished, and the weight of her distended abdomen made it impossible for her to walk. Her doctor did a CT scan and discovered that the patient, who has chosen to remain anonymous, had an enormous mass on her left ovary. That mass turned out to be a 132-pound tumor.

Dr. Vaan Andikyan of Danbury Hospital was one of the lead surgeons on the case. He told CNN about the first time he met the patient: "When I first walked into the examination room, I found this 38-year-old malnourished patient with a weight of 350 pounds and extensive tumor that was about 100 centimeters [39 inches] large. I saw fear in the patient's eyes. She was so hopeless, because she had seen several other doctors, and they were unable to help her."

Danbury Hospital

She diagnosed with a mucinous ovarian tumor, a unique kind of epithelial tumor that is filled with mucous and accounts for 15 percent of all ovarian tumors. Most mucinous tumors (about 80 percent) are benign, and about 83 percent of mucinous tumors that are cancerous are diagnosed while they are stage I. These tumors tend to be larger than other tumors, but this tumor was one of the largest ever removed. Said Dr. Andikyan: "Tumors this big are exceedingly rare in the literature. It may be in the top 10 or 20 tumors of this size removed worldwide."

Though this tumor was, fortunately, benign, and had not spread, its size and position made it a threat to the patient's life. It was putting pressure on her major blood vessels, which complicated an already difficult five-hour surgery. "As soon as we started removing the tumor, the blood pressure of the patient started dropping. So cardiology and the anesthesia team was able to adjust intraoperative management to support her heart and lungs to be able to continue with surgery," Andikyan said. 

In addition to the tumor, the team of 12 surgeons also removed six pounds of abdominal wall tissue and excess skin, her left ovary, and her left fallopian tube. She was discharged two weeks after her February 14 surgery, and now, three months later, she's back at work and doing well.

Danbury Hospital

Ovarian tumors (abnormal masses) and cysts (sacs filled with air, fluid, or other material) are not uncommon among women of childbearing age -- in fact, about 50 percent of women with irregular periods will have one, as will about 30 percent of women with regular periods. Luckily, they are mostly benign. But it's important to remember, as Dr. Linus Chuang, another surgeon who worked on the case, put it: "[ovarian cancer] is a very deadly cancer if it's not diagnosed in the early stage."

It's important to talk to your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms of an ovarian mass: bloating; pelvic or abdominal pain; trouble eating or feeling full quickly; feeling the need to urinate urgently or often.

health & safety
Cafemom Logo
This is motherhood #nofilter

AboutTermsContactPrivacyPRIVACY SETTINGSSUBMIT A STORY
© 2024 WILD SKY MEDIA.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PART OF WILD SKY MEDIA
| FAMILY & PARENTING
CAFEMOMMAMÁSLATINAS
LITTLETHINGSMOM.COM
This site is owned and operated by Bright Mountain Media, Inc., a publicly owned company trading with the symbol: BMTM.