Indian doctors remove ‘world’s largest adrenal tumor’
A team of doctors in Delhi have removed from a patient’s body what they claim to be the world’s largest adrenal tumor.
55 year old Ashwini Marwah has been gaining weight steadily over the last few years, so he considered the idea of a bariatric surgery. However, during the investigations the doctors found that an adrenal tumor weighing 11.5 kg occupied the right side of his abdomen. The tumor was big enough that it crossed over to the left side of the abdomen.
“A high-risk candidate for surgery”
Ashwini, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes mellitus and also hypertension came in for an evaluation for bariatric surgery to the Fortis C-DOC hospital in Delhi. As Anoop Mishra, the chairman of the hospital said to The Hindu, “During evaluation and investigations we found the abdominal tumor. The patient was unaware of the tumor. Except for increase in weight, a dragging sensation and heaviness on the right side of the abdomen, he was asymptomatic. The tumor was located adjacent to vital organs, particularly the kidney, inferior vena cava and intestines.”
The patient was later shifted to the care of Dr Randeep Wadhawan. According to the doctor, when the patient came in, his body mass index was 48 and among her many medical complications were diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The doctor termed him to be a high-risk candidate for the surgery. The doctor said that owing to the size of the tumor, a large incision has to be made on the patient’s abdomen.
Upon removal, the tumor weighed 11.5 kg. Dr Randeep thinks this is the largest adrenal myelolipoma. He said that the greatest challenge was in salvaging the patient’s right kidney-given how his kidney functions are already affected thanks to diabetes and hypertension. He also said that a histopathology of the tumor confirmed the diagnosis of adrenal mylelolipoma.
The largest tumor that has been reported in India till date weighed 6 kg. It was removed in 2003. The largest adrenal adenoma in the world was removed in 2013; it weighed 7.5 kg, says a release that the hospital issued.
Adrenal myelolipoma is considered as a very rare benign tumor. It contains mature adipose tissue as well as haematopoietic elements in variable amounts. Most of the lesions are small and asymptomatic. They are usually discovered incidentally. The overall incidence is 0,05% to 0,2%.
The feat of the team of Delhi doctors has been lauded in the media.
Image credits: thehindu.com