Surgeons in India have removed a massive kidney weighing 7.4kg – slightly heavier than the maximum legal weight of a bowling ball – from a patient.
It could be the largest kidney ever removed, and doctors are considering submitting it to the Guinness World Records.
Currently, the world’s largest kidney weighs in at 4.25kg in the Guinness Book of World Records and belonged to a man in Dubai who had it removed in 2017.
A normal adult kidney weighs around 120-150 grams and measures 12cm in length. The length of the kidney removed by surgeons at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi was nearly 45cm.
Dr Sachin Kathuria, a urology consultant at the hospital, told the BBC the patient’s other kidney “is even bigger”.
The patient, a 56-year-old man, suffers from a genetic disorder called Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.
The disease causes cysts filled with fluid to develop in the kidneys and make them swell. It can lead to renal failure if not managed or removed.
Large kidneys are common among patients with this disease, but doctors were still surprised by the size of the organ.
Prior to the surgery, the patient was suffering from pain in his left side as well as a fever. He was also experiencing breathing difficulties due to the sheer size of the kidney.
It was found that his left kidney was infected and he was bleeding internally. It was then that doctors decided to operate.
Dr Kathuria told the Hindustan Times the right kidney is not causing the patient any issues at the moment. The man, who is recovering well, will undergo dialysis regularly to help the remaining kidney function.
