Mom with rare skin cancer saved by surgery

Doctors have successfully removed a huge and rare skin cancer from the back of a new mother.

The woman was born with venous malformation, a common malformation in which veins are abnormally formed or dilated.

Such malformation is rarely malignant. Usually, a venous malformation is a slow and steady enlargement, but events such as surgery, trauma, infection or hormonal changes associated with puberty, pregnancy or menopause may cause a rapid expansion.

The woman, who was born with a purple bulge due to a venous malformation on the left of her back, saw its quick growth during her pregnancy and after delivery.

The condition became more serious and she was confirmed as having skin cancer.

She went to the Shanghai No. 9 People's Hospital, whose doctors found the cancer had reached 30 centimeters and grown deep into her chest and stomach tissues, making surgery extremely risky.

To reduce the risk, doctors conducted five rounds of treatment to shrink the cancer before conducting surgery this month.

During the four-hour operation, doctors removed the 20-odd-centimeter cancer completely. The patient is recovering and will be transferred to the oncology department for further treatment.