52-year-old woman with largest ovarian tumour successfully operated at Delhi's Apollo Hospital

New Delhi: A 52-year-old woman known for having the largest ovarian tumour ever got successfully operated at Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo Hospital. The doctors team conducted a 3-and-a-half-hour successful surgery for extraction of this 50 kg tumour on August 18, 2020.

The patient is a resident of New Delhi and she  had been gaining weight for the last few months and weighed a total of 106 kgs. A team of surgeons led by doctor Arun Prasad, Senior Consultant, Surgical Gastroenterology & Bariatric Surgery did the operation including doctor Abhishek Tiwari, Consultant, Surgical Gastroenterology, doctor Geeta Chadha, Senior Consultant, Gynecology & Obstetrics and doctor Jaya George, Senior Consultant, Anesthesiology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. 

The hospital authority said, ''With rapid weight gain and increasing complications, the family consulted a local surgeon, who then referred the patient to Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. Upon investigation at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals it was revealed that the lady had a giant, progressively expanding tumour in her ovary and this was putting pressure on her intestine (intestinal adhesions) causing acute stomachache and inability to digest food. Additionally, the hemoglobin of the patient had dropped to 6 that causing severe anemia.''

A key surgeon on this case, Dr Abhishek Tewari, said,''The patient was admitted with complaints of stomachache, breathing stress and obvious weight gain. She was advised immediate surgery else the tumour would have grown exponentially and caused pressure on other organs leading to possible organ failure. Fortunately, the tumour was benign and the patient had no co-morbidities, which enabled a faster recovery. Post-surgery her weight dropped to 56 kgs.''

Dr Geeta Chadha, said, ''There is no proven reason for emergence of a tumour in the ovary, but it can happen during the formation of the cells in a human body. As a first ever case of a 50 kg tumour in the ovary, this was a challenging procedure. Due to the giant tumour, the intestinal tract throughout was compressed and flattened which was putting pressure on the gut leading to risk of rupture in the ovary. The surgery had to be done with utmost precision, keeping in mind seamless extraction of the tumour and simultaneously ensuring no harm is caused to the ovary or the gut. Post-surgery the patient showed tremendous recovery and is set to be discharged on 22nd August.''