In a rare surgery, state-run Cama Hospital’s doctors on Thursday removed a tumour weighing 7.2 kg from the womb of a nine-month pregnant woman. The woman had been carrying the tumour throughout her pregnancy.
Gaining weight during pregnancy is normal but when 32-year-old Chaya Gaikwad, a resident of Buldhana, gained far more than regular amount. she knew there was something wrong with her. It was only when she began experiencing abnormal abdominal pains and consulted doctors that she learnt that besides a foetus, a tumour had been growing inside her for nine months.
After doctors at her native place failed to detect the tumour in her ovary, Ms Gaikwad consulted doctors at Cama Hospital in Mumbai. The hospital’s superintendent Dr Rajashri Katke said, “We removed the tumour from Ms Gaikwad’s ovary in a three-hour-long operation. The tumour had started growing in the right ovary along with her baby. With the baby inside her, we could not conducted a CT scan, as the rays may have been harmful for the child. After observing her complex situation, we got her admitted on June 5. However, we could operate her for the tumour only after she delivered a baby on July 27. She delivered a baby weighing only 1.2 kg, and was kept in incubator. Due to the presence of tumour, the baby was unable to gain weight.”
“The biggest challenge for us was to perform the surgery, as a vein had turned as thick as the size of a thumb. It was the main blood supplier to the tumour, so we had to be extra cautious. One wrong incision would have proved fatal for Ms Gaikwad. However, we managed to remove the tumour,” added Dr Katke.
Talking to The Asian Age, Shrikrushna Gaikwad, Ms Gaikwad’s husband said, “My wife has suffered a lot of pain during the nine months of her pregnancy. Initially, we thought the pains were normal, but when she gained a lot of weight, we consulted the doctors and found out about the tumour. Now, that the tumour has been operated upon, she is fine and recovering.”
