13.8 kg tumour removed from man’s chest

A tumour bigger than the “size of a football” and weighing 13.8 kg was removed from the chest of a 25-year-old man, according to a private hospital.

The tumour had occupied more than 90% of the chest area of the person, reducing the lung function by 90%. “The patient came to us in a very critical condition as his lungs were compressed owing to the size of the tumourin the chest due to which he was not able to carry out his daily routine activities. It was a four-hour surgery, which involved opening of both the sides of the chest and cutting the chest bone (sternum) in between,” said Dr. Udgeath Dhir, head of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, Fortis Hospital, Gurugram.

The doctor said that due to the size of the tumour, it could not be removed through a minimal invasive surgery and thus it was required to be cut to further enable the removal of the tumour from the patient’s chest.

The patient stayed in the ICU for 39 days after the surgery and was later shifted to a room. He is currently doing well and on bare minimal oxygen support, the hospital said.