A 56-year-old woman’s weight dropped dramatically after physicians removed a 47-kilogram tumour from her stomach during a life-saving surgery. The tumour has been growing in the woman from Gujarat, whose identity has not been revealed, for 18 years. The tumour is thought to be the largest non-ovarian tumour surgically removed in India.

According to the Times of India, Dr. Chirag Desai, a surgical gastroenterologist at Apollo Hospitals, stated, “We couldn’t weigh the patient before operation since she couldn’t stand.” She weighed 49 kg following the operation.

“The removal, which included the tumour – in our terminology, retroperitoneal leiomyoma – weighed more than her actual weight.” This is unusual, according to the doctor,” he told TOI.

In 2004, the woman noticed inexplicable weight gain in her abdomen, and sonography indicated that it was a benign tumour. She had attempted surgery earlier, but physicians decided against it since the tumour was linked to an internal organ and the surgery would be too hazardous.

The tumour has more than doubled in size in the last two years. The woman was in excruciating discomfort and couldn’t get out of bed. Doctors were then consulted again by the patient’s family.

A team of eight specialists, including four surgeons, carried out the four-hour procedure. Because of the tumor’s size, doctors were unable to determine its cause. A week before the operation, the patient was given special medicine and treatment to keep her from collapsing.