The woman’s tumor had grown at an alarming rate of about 10 pounds per week, according to CNN.
“Ovarian mucinous tumors tend to be big. But tumors this big are exceedingly rare in the literature. It may be in the top 10 or 20 tumors of this size removed worldwide,” said Dr. Andikyan.
Although the tumor was technically benign, or noncancerous and had not spread outside the ovary, it was compressing nearby blood vessels and was therefore a threat to the patient’s life, according to doctors involved in the case.
“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,” Dr Andikyan told CNN.
He added, “During the surgery, we removed this gigantic tumor that originated from her left ovary. We removed her left ovary, her left (fallopian) tube, and we removed the affected peritoneal tissue that was adhering to the ovary.”
Doctors said the tumor had prevented the woman from eating, walking and she was also at very high risk of developing blood clots.
The good news afterwards was that the doctors were also able to save the woman’s reproductive organs should she choose to have more children.
Here are the medical heroes who carried out the surgery!
Andikyan, however, warns that ovarian cancer and tumors may not be the most common type of cancer in women, but at the same time it is deadly if not not detected in time.
Where would we be without our healthcare professionals? They save lives every day, but we don’t always hear about it.
Please continue to pay attention to and pay tribute to our healthcare heroes who are performing miracles in our hospitals every day.