6-kg tumours removed from woman’s kidneys

Two big tumours found in the kidneys of a young woman were successfully removed through a rare surgery performed at the PVS Hospital here.

The medical team led by senior urologist Dr George P Abraham removed the tumours weighing up to six kg through a two-stage surgery.  The 28-year-old woman from Chingavanam near Kottayam, has been suffering from abdominal discomfort since 2007.

The mass was filling her entire abdomen and the CT scan had showed large bilateral angiomyolipoma, the most common benign tumour of the kidney, composed of blood vessels, smooth muscle cells and fat cells.  “A tumour weighing three-kg was removed through a bench surgery, which lasted for 10 hours, performed in August. The second surgery was conducted after a month and another tumour weighing three kg was removed,” said Dr George P Abraham at a press meet here on Thursday. The tumour measured 30 cm in diametre, he said.

The surgery included taking out the kidney and cooling it with costly HTK solution and resecting the tumour mass.

The kidney was then reconstructed and auto transplanted which required ventilator support. The major share of the expense for the surgery, `six lakh was met by the hospital management, George said.