When 51-year-old Sankari (name changed) approached doctors at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (IOG) and Government Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore, on November 16, she weighed 51 kg.
Three weeks later, she was down 20 kg — the weight of an ovarian mass that was growing in her for nearly seven years.
A resident of Chromepet, Sankari was diagnosed with a tumour in her left ovary nearly seven years ago.
Despite pain and progressive abdominal swelling, she did not seek further medical help out of fear.
“It was only on her daughter’s insistence, that she approached us. We took opinions of specialists, and our team performed the surgery on December 10,” said S. Sampathkumari, director, IOG. A team of doctors, led by Seethalakshmi, professor, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, IOG, removed the mass, weighing 20 kg, in a two-hour-long procedure. Dr. Sampathkumari said the mass was carefully excised without causing damage to the organs, to which it was attached.
“Ovarian tumours grow very fast, and if not removed, it would have grown much more in size. She presently weighs around 34 kg. The main symptoms of ovarian tumours are loss of weight and loss of appetite. These are symptoms that are usually ignored by women. It usually occurs during the menopausal period. We have sent samples for pathological analysis to ascertain if it was malignant” she added.
This was the first time in the history of the 175-year-old institution that doctors removed such as huge mass, a press release said.
“Women aged over 35 should go for health screening. All government hospitals offer screening for cancers of the cervix, endometrium, ovaries and breast,” she added.
