A 71-year-old man was left with a huge lump on his back weighing the same as three newborn babies.
The man was admitted to hospital with the enormous mass, which had been present for around three decades but had started growing rapidly over the last two years.
The giant, soft lump stretched from his left shoulder down to his lower back, with superficial veins visible across its surface, and was found to be pushing against the surrounding muscles.
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The pensioner was eventually taken into surgery to have the mass – which measured 56cm by 54cm by 28cm – removed.
Surgeons made an incision over the tumour before carefully peeling it away layer by layer and tying off the blood vessels supplying it.
The entire mass was removed in one piece, as reported by Need To Know.
Preoperative clinical photographs of the giant left back tumor; (a) posterior view; (b) lateral view. (Picture: Jam Press)
It weighed a staggering 22lbs – roughly the same weight as three average (7lbs) newborn babies.
Despite its enormous size, doctors reported blood loss of only around 100ml during the operation.
The patient was then given flap reconstruction to repair the area where the giant growth had been removed.
Tests on the tumour showed it was made up largely of mature fat cells.
The man’s drain was removed five days after surgery and his stitches were taken out two weeks later.
Resected specimen and postoperative follow-up; (a) gross specimen after gross complete excision; (b) Appearance at 9-month follow-up. (Picture: Jam Press)
His wound healed well and, at nine months of follow-up, there was no sign of the tumour returning or spreading elsewhere.
Although the tumour generally has a low risk of spreading to other parts of the body, doctors warned that it can return locally and, in some cases, develop into a more aggressive tumour.
The patient, who was treated in Lhasa, China, will therefore need longer-term monitoring with clinical examinations and scans.
The case was shared in a recently published medical journal, chronicling the doctors’ efforts and methods.
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