Man's swollen belly caused by huge tumor

An elderly man had a 19-kilogram tumor removed from his belly with less than 500 milliliters of blood lost during surgery, Renji Hospital said on Monday. The patient is recovering well, it said. 

The man surnamed Gu found his belly becoming bigger and bigger and his legs had swollen in recent months. As he had several underlying diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and coronary disease, he didn’t pay much notice. But he consulted the hospital when his condition began to seriously affect his daily life.

A CT scan revealed a tumor with a diameter of 45 centimeters which was pressing on other organs.

Dr Liu Yingbin said surgery was risky as the tumor was connected to major blood vessels and any mistake could cause severe bleeding.

After two weeks of preparation, a team of doctors carried out the two-hour operation on March 15 with no damage to any healthy tissue. 

“The belly getting bigger may not be because of being fat. It may be caused by a tumor. Surgery is the only cure for such s tumor,” Liu said.