Doctors remove 66-Pound Tumor

[bloodrayne]

66-Pound Tumor Removed

Surgeons at University Hospital removed a 66-pound tumor from the abdomen of a woman from Peebles, Ohio, a little over a week ago. Friday, she went home.

"I can't believe that thing was in me," said Grace Radtke. The massive but non-cancerous ovarian tumor was removed Dec. 3.

Radtke, in her early 40s, works at a grocery store deli counter. She's married and has two sons, a daughter and a grandchild.

Several months ago, Radtke weighed more than 300 pounds. She said she didn't notice anything unusual beyond her weight problem. Then she started losing weight without being on a diet - more than 60 pounds over several weeks.

As she lost weight, she noticed something strange going on with her body. She could push on her belly and feel the unusually large mass growing inside her.

"It didn't feel normal. It was like a long pregnancy," she said.

As she continued to work, she felt more pain than usual in her back and legs but no other symptoms beyond discomfort. With prodding from family members, she decided to seek medical attention.

Doctors in Hillsboro did a CT scan that confirmed a large mass but could not show whether it was cancerous. They referred Radtke to University Hospital.

Doctors there determined she had a mucinous ovarian tumor, one of several types of ovarian cysts. Such tumors start when cells inside the walnut-sized ovaries start growing out of control. Triggers can include family history, hormone imbalances, excess upper-body fat and other factors. Most cases have unknown causes.

About 85 percent of mucinous tumors are not cancerous, but they can become massive if they are not removed. Dr. Gregory Duma and his team removed Radtke's tumor in one piece.

The 1½-hour operation wasn't easy. At various points, team members had to lift and roll the heavy tumor from side to side to allow surgeons to disconnect blood vessels feeding it from underneath. Once fully disconnected, it took four sets of hands to lift the slippery, watermelon-shaped mass out of Radtke's body.

They rolled the tumor onto a stretcher, then sent it to the pathology department, where tests confirmed that it was not cancerous.

Radtke entered the hospital weighing about 245 pounds. She left weighing about 160 pounds and extremely relieved that the tumor wasn't cancer.

"I'm just thankful I'm here," she said.

No one knows how long the tumor might have been growing. It could have been as long as five years, Duma said.

The 66-pound tumor dwarfs a 21-pound tumor that Duma removed from a young woman several years ago. It might also be the largest ever removed in this region, but University Hospital officials say they have no records to confirm that.

Such ovarian tumors have been reported to grow to well beyond 100 pounds.

Doctors in Romania removed a 175-pound ovarian tumor in January . The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas reported removing a 156-pound tumor in 1997. A 130-pound tumor was removed in 1996 in Greenville, S.C. And doctors in Kyoto, Japan, removed a 121-pounder in 2003.

According to "Guinness World Records,'' the largest tumor ever removed weighed 303 pounds. It was removed in 1991 at Stanford University Medical Center.

[Gren the cake]

LOL. thats horrible. another reason why u shuodlnt let urself get that fuckin huge

i was watching idscovery and some lady was like 250 lbs or so. complained of stomach pains. turns out she was pregnant and she gave birth that very night

LOL. thats pretty sad when ur that heavy and u cant even tel if ur pregnant or u have huge thingy in ur belly. yuckoz

[horror_master]

Lucky it wasn't cancer. I hope she makes a speedy recovery. This also proves an point. That you hsould awalys go for a yeasrly check up.