KIMSHEALTH doctors remove rare 11-kg malignant tumour after complex surgery

Thiruvananthapuram / June 5, 2021

 In a rare and complex surgery lasting over seven hours, doctors at the KIMSHEALTH here successfully removed a malignant tumour weighing 11 kg from the abdomen of a 57-year-old man, giving him a new lease of life. 

The man, a bachelor hailing from Pathanamthitta, was carrying the tumour with a size of 50x27x26 cm when it was removed.

“He was carrying it for the last three years without any apparent discomfort except the distension on the abdomen and had no plans of seeing a doctor until his relatives forced him to do so,” said Dr B Jayanand Sunil, surgical oncologist, KIMSHEALTH Cancer Centre.

“It was a touch and go situation as the tumour, diagnosed as liposarcoma, was in the retro-peritoneum in the vicinity of the left kidney, left ureter and major vessels. Besides a biopsy, the patient was subjected to multiple investigations, including a PET Scan, to ascertain that the malignancy had not spread to other organs, if it had, a surgery would have been futile,” Dr Sunil explained.

Liposarcoma is a cancer that arises in fat cells in the body’s soft tissue, such as the inside of the thigh or abdomen. It is a rare type of cancer that is typically a large, bulky tumour, and tends to have multiple smaller satellites extending beyond the main confines of the tumour.

Luckily for the patient, the tumour, sandwiched between the gastro-intestinal tract, kidney and major blood vessels and extending to the left scrotum, had not spread to other organs of the body.

Within three days of the patient getting admitted, it was decided that the surgery could be done. A team of doctors, comprising Dr B Jayanand Sunil & Dr Bharath (Surgical Oncologists), Dr Shabeer Ali (Surgical Gastroenterologist), Dr Renu Thomas & Dr Nithya (Urologists), Dr Firoz Khan & Dr Saran (General Surgeons), Dr Shaji P (Cardiovascular Surgeon), Dr Subhash & Dr Nandakumar (Anaesthetists), conducted the operation which started at 9 am and lasted till 4.30 pm. 

Post-surgery, the patient showed remarkable improvement and he was shifted out of the ICU on the third day.

Within a week after the surgery, the patient was discharged and he left the hospital hale and hearty.

Dr Sunil said the patient knew about his tumour a year ago after a scan was done on him at a hospital near his home. But, since it did not interfere with his day to day life, he ignored it.