WASHINGTON — A 53-year-old woman in Singapore recently had surgery to remove a 61-pound fibroid after she had trouble walking and breathing.
The largest fibroid – a tumor that develops in the uterus – to be removed from a living person weighed around 100 pounds, Live Science reported.
While not quite record-breaking, this tumor was still classified as “giant” by weight standards. The case report published in BMJ on the tumor and its removal called fibroids of this size “exceedingly rare.”
Pumpkin-Size ‘Giant’ Fibroid Removed from Woman’s Uterus https://t.co/tm9CnPEjaQ pic.twitter.com/soBgA6p1Ny
— Live Science (@LiveScience) September 7, 2018
Live Science reported that the fibroid was about 26 inches across at its widest point, and it took up the woman’s entire abdominal cavity.
It likely took five years for the tumor to grow to that size, and its slow growth let her body adjust as it grew.
Dr. Poh Ting Lim, an OB-GYN resident at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore, said the woman may have put off seeking medical attention because she was afraid of surgery.
In order to remove it, doctors had to perform a total hysterectomy and reconstruct the woman’s abdomen with plastic surgery.
