Overseas Vietnamese woman suffers from extremely rare syndrome, mistakenly thought she was "obese" for 20 years

(Dan Tri) - An extremely rare syndrome caused the 25-year-old woman's thighs and hips to grow "dizzily", making the overseas Vietnamese woman think she was obese or had "big bones" for 20 years.

Extremely rare syndrome, 20 years thought to be obese

Recently, Ms. NTA (25 years old) - a Vietnamese living in the United States - returned to Vietnam to find a hospital that could help her with her terrible condition, having lived with abnormally enlarged thighs and hips for 20 years.

Taking a medical history, from the age of 6, A. began to notice abnormal soft tissue growth, but due to a lack of proper diagnosis, the patient and his family thought it was due to obesity or "big bones", and did not seek examination and treatment when the lipoma first formed.

The patient's lipoma grew "giant" after 20 years (Photo: Hospital).

Over time, the condition continued to progress silently. By the time the patient was 25, his thighs and hips had rapidly increased in size, with the hip circumference reaching 138cm.

Based on color ultrasound images and CT scan results of the lower limbs, doctors at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City diagnosed the patient with Madelung syndrome of the buttocks, an extremely rare disease that causes abnormal fat growth, symmetrical on both sides of the buttocks and hips.

What is special is that the lipoma is not located in a clear capsule, spreads to soft tissue, and cannot be improved by diet or regular exercise.

Due to busy work conditions and difficulties in accessing the health care system in the United States, the patient delayed intensive treatment. The fat mass continued to enlarge, causing the patient many inconveniences in daily life and psychological effects.

For many years, she could not fit into normal clothes, avoided communication and always lived with an inferiority complex. Taking further family history, doctors noted that many family members had similar tumors but smaller in size.

6 hours to get rid of "huge" fat for Vietnamese overseas woman

Dr. Nguyen Phan Tu Dung, General Director of the hospital that treated the patient, shared that Madelung syndrome is often recorded in the neck, shoulder or upper body, and mainly in middle-aged men with a history of alcoholism.

The appearance of the disease in a young girl with no risk factors and symmetric localized lesions in the buttocks is an extremely rare manifestation. This can be considered the first case diagnosed and surgically treated in Vietnam.

Diagnostic imaging results showed that the patient's fatty tissue mass was up to 8.2cm thick on each side, with a total hip circumference of 138cm, far exceeding the pathological standards commonly encountered in clinical practice.

The patient was diagnosed with a very rare syndrome (Photo: Hospital).

“MSL (Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis) is not like normal fat. It can spread, cause body deformation, compress blood vessels, affect posture and leave serious psychological consequences if not intervened promptly and properly,” Dr. Tu Dung emphasized.

After multidisciplinary consultation, the patient was indicated for fat tissue removal surgery combined with thigh and buttock contour reconstruction to restore motor function and improve aesthetics.

After a 6-hour surgery, doctors removed diffuse fat tissue, preserved blood vessel and nerve structures, and aesthetically reconstructed the patient's buttocks, hips, and thighs.

Postoperatively, the patient recovered well and continued to have a VAC system placed to drain excess fat tissue and perform gene decoding tests to help detect potential genetic factors and prevent recurrence.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/nu-viet-kieu-mac-hoi-chung-cuc-hiem-tuong-nham-beo-phi-suot-20-nam-20250627220554279.htm