Doctors at a hospital in Vietnam have managed to remove an 8kg ovarian tumor from the abdomen of a woman who had refused to undergo surgery when the tumor was first detected over four years ago.

N.T.H., 27, revisited Xuyen A General Hospital, located in southern Tay Ninh Province, recently because the tumor doctors had found in her right ovary had grown to the point that it occupied her entire abdomen, Dr. Ho Tien Duy, head of the hospital’s general surgery department, said on Wednesday.   

H. was hospitalized with throbbing pain in her abdomen and lumbar spine, as well as difficulty breathing, Dr. Duy added.

After a two-hour surgery, hospital doctors announced that they had successfully removed the tumor, weighing 8kg, from H.’s abdomen. 

Four years ago, the patient first came to Xuyen A General Hospital to undergo clinical tests for a family planning method, Dr. Duy recounted.

Hospital doctors detected her tumor, the size of an orange at that time, so they advised H. to have a surgery to remove it.

H. and her family opted for folk treatment instead, as she was breastfeeding her first child then. 

Ovarian tumors are common among young women, according to Dr. Bui Chi Viet, professional director of Xuyen A General Hospital.

The majority of these tumors are benign, with surgery to remove them being the only solution. 

Some ovarian tumors, however, are malignant, requiring close coordination between radical surgical methods with chemotherapy after surgery to prevent recurrence and helping improve the quality of post-surgery life for the sick.

Dr. Viet recommended that patients quickly consult a specialist for prompt advice and treatment once any abnormal change is detected in their body, be it benign or malignant.  

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