Removing 20kg ovarian tumor - the largest ever at Tu Du Hospital

Doctors at Tu Du Hospital (HCMC) have just removed a "giant" ovarian tumor weighing more than 20kg from a 34-year-old woman. This is the largest ovarian tumor surgery ever performed at the hospital.

Doctors at Tu Du Hospital operated to remove an ovarian tumor weighing more than 20kg from a 34-year-old woman - Photo: Provided by the hospital

On August 5, Tu Du Hospital (HCMC) announced that it had successfully performed surgery on a female patient (34 years old, living in Ca Mau ) with an ovarian tumor weighing more than 20kg - the largest ever at the hospital.

Ms. T. is not married. For nearly a year, she has noticed that her belly is getting bigger and bigger, but she thought it was due to weight gain and lack of exercise. However, in the past 5-6 months, her belly has grown abnormally big, to the point where she cannot go to work, but she still hesitates and has not gone to the doctor.

Two days before being admitted to the hospital, Ms. T. had difficulty breathing when lying on her back, so she went to Tu Du Hospital for a check-up. The doctors and midwives were surprised and worried when they saw her abdomen was hard, exceeding the size of a full-term twin or triplet pregnancy. The veins under her abdomen were blue and tangled.

After being examined clinically, having an ultrasound, an MRI scan and blood tests, Ms. T. was diagnosed with a "giant" abdominal tumor, over 40cm high, spreading to the epigastric region.

Ultrasound images recorded a tumor measuring 40x25x39cm, exceeding the machine's measuring capacity, suspected to originate from the left adnexa.

The tumor had many septa and increased blood vessels but no shadowing - a common sign in solid tumors. The right kidney was compressed by the tumor, causing grade 2 hydronephrosis.

MRI results showed that the tumor had a multilobular structure, with a malignancy risk of about 50%. Blood tests also showed an elevated CA 125 level of 297 U/ml, exceeding the normal threshold, raising concerns about the possibility of a malignant ovarian tumor.

Immediately after receiving the paraclinical results, Tu Du Hospital organized an urgent consultation to plan the safest and fastest surgery for Ms. T..

Because the ovarian tumor has a high risk of malignancy, and Ms. T. is young and unmarried, doctors must carefully consider the need for radical treatment and the ability to preserve reproductive function.

Accordingly, the team agreed to perform a cold biopsy during surgery - a technique that helps quickly determine the nature of the tumor.

On the morning of August 1, Ms. T. was transferred to the operating room. When opening her abdomen, doctors found a "giant" tumor measuring about 40x50x45cm, originating from the left ovary. Notably, the tumor shell had solidified and adhered to the anterior abdominal wall, spreading to the stomach and hepatic angle.

Exploration showed soft omentum, normal uterus and right adnexa, no abnormalities recorded on liver and stomach surfaces.

To reduce pressure and facilitate the operation, the surgeon decided to carefully insert gauze and then aspirate the fluid in the tumor. The total amount of fluid aspirated was more than 16 liters of thin mucus.

Next, the team carefully removed the adhesions and separated the tumor, avoiding damage to surrounding organs. Once the tumor was completely exposed, the doctor proceeded to completely remove it. The entire surgery lasted 240 minutes, the total weight of the tumor, including fluid and solid tissue, was 20.5 kg.

After three days of surgery, on the morning of August 4, Ms. T. recovered well. Doctors noted that her face was rosy, the surgical wound was dry, she had no fever, she ate normally, and her stomach had noticeably shrunk. She shared that before the surgery she weighed 61kg, now she only weighs about 40kg, she did not expect the tumor to be so large.

SPRING PLUM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lay-khoi-u-buong-trung-nang-20kg-to-nhat-tu-truoc-den-nay-tai-benh-vien-tu-du-20250805112206489.htm