KOLKATA: Doctors in a Kolkata hospital removed an aggressive
tumour weighing 8 kilo
from the uterus of a 51-year-old woman.
Debjani De (51) is recuperating well after the eight-hour-long marathon surgery.
When she came to Apollo Cancer Centre (ACC) in March she was not even aware about the massive tumour that was growing inside her.
Through a series of tests, oncologists at the hospital diagnosed her with a rare and “highly aggressive” uterine tumour called Uterine Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) that had invaded her pelvic organs.
Doctors said the only curative option was a supra-major surgery, necessitating the removal of the tumour, urinary bladder, rectum, and a portion of her distal colon.
In fact, the tumour had infiltrated the rectum, sigmoid colon, urinary bladder, and distal ureter.
The team of surgical oncologists performed an open radical en bloc resection of the tumour measuring 27x27x23cm, excising all involved organs without any rupture and with minimal blood loss.
Leiomyosarcoma primarily affects perimenopausal women between the age group of 45 and 53 which accounts for three to seven per cent of all uterine cancers.
Among uterine cancers, one of the most common is endometrial cancer.
Endometrial cancer, in some cases, may have a correlation with thyroid cancer, but De was diagnosed with LMS, which is completely different from endometrial cancer and is not related to thyroid malignancy.
She was discharged after five days of post-surgical care.
“This was a complex and challenging case that required extensive coordination and teamwork. I am extremely satisfied with the recovery and to see how challenging cases like these drive us to do better and push ourselves further to deliver the best care possible to our patients,” said Dr Supratim Bhattacharyya, surgical oncologist who led the team of doctors along with Dr Amit Choraria another surgical oncologist.
Dr Choraria said, “It was the willingness and fighting spirit of the patient along with the teamwork that made the difference. We are happy that the patient came to us at the right time. Any delay would have made the tumour unresectable.”
