PUNE: The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in cases of weight gain. But obesity can have a deeper underlying cause too.
A 22-year-old woman from a well-to-do family was found to be nurturing a massive pumpkin-size ovarian tumour when her parents took her to a physician for weight gain. They thought that her weight was rising due to lack of exercise, increased screen time and sedentary lifestyle during the pandemic.
“The young woman had a huge 45cm ovarian mass weighing 11.2kg. Our major challenge was to remove the tumour without rupturing it and harming her other organs,” said gynaec-oncosurgeon Dr Nikhil Parwate, who successfully removed the massive tumour at the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Chinchwad on January 5.
The tumour was removed without compromising her fertility and chances of becoming a mother.
The heaviest recorded tumour (18.5kg) in the medical literature was reported from Wardha (Maharashtra) in October 2019. In the last 20 years, 48 cases worldwide have been reported of giant ovarian masses. Twelve of these cases, including the 22-year-old Pune girl, had cancerous tumours, he said.
“The mass in the girl’s case was so huge that the upper border of the mass was touching the border of the patient’s breast,” said the hospital’s gynaecologist Dr Madhulika Singh.
Dr Singh doubted that the mass was benign and hence immediately referred the patient to Dr Parwate.
Removing the tumour without rupturing it or spilling any contents of the tumour was among the major challenges in the surgery.
“Clinically, we could assess the possibility of the tumour being early-stage cancer. Based on this, we kept the uterus and another normal ovary, but removed the other ovary, tissues surrounding the tumour and the path of its spread,” Dr Parwate said.
The complicated surgery went on for three hours and fifteen minutes. The woman was allowed to go home within a week post-surgery. “Currently, she is not on any cancer medication because she has early (stage 1A grade 2) cancer for which surgery is the only treatment. No additional chemotherapy is required,” Dr Parwate said.
“She is absolutely fine. However, she has been advised strict monitoring till she gets married, conceive normally and has a baby,” one of her parents said.
