Photo: Surgeons in Lviv removed a 4-kilogram tumor from a 12-year-old girl
In Lviv, surgeons at St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital successfully removed a giant benign tumor weighing 4 kilograms from a 12-year-old patient. According to the doctors, this is the largest tumor ever surgically removed in the hospital’s history.
The girl was diagnosed with a thymolipoma—a rare benign tumor of the chest cavity—which was detected in early childhood. Since such tumors grow slowly and do not cause pronounced symptoms for a long time, doctors initially only monitored her condition. However, over time, the tumor grew significantly, leading to a deterioration in the child’s well-being.
According to the hospital, in recent years the girl began experiencing severe shortness of breath and difficulty walking, and after suffering a viral infection in the spring, her condition deteriorated sharply. At the time of hospitalization, the tumor measured 20×20 centimeters and weighed about 4 kilograms, which accounted for more than 11% of the child’s body weight.
Doctors note that the tumor completely compressed the right lung, leaving only 25–30% of the lung tissue functional. In addition, the tumor displaced the heart into the left axillary region and caused a curvature of the spine.
The surgery lasted about three hours and was one of the most challenging procedures for the medical team. Due to compression of the airways and heart, anesthesiologists had to manually ventilate the lungs, and surgeons had to cut through six ribs to remove the tumor.
According to pediatric surgeon and hospital medical director Oleksandr Kalinchuk, the procedure was successful and involved virtually no blood loss.
After the surgery, the girl’s heart returned to its normal position, her right lung began to recover, and her symptoms of hypoxia and shortness of breath are gradually subsiding.
Doctors predict the patient’s full recovery. After completing rehabilitation, which will last three to six months, the girl will be able to return to her normal lifestyle without any restrictions.
This was reported on July 22 by St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital.
As a reminder, at the private Centre MCO Côte d’Opale clinic in Saint-Martin-Boulogne (France), a surgeon, due to a mix-up with another patient, removed all four wisdom teeth from a 17-year-old girl instead of performing the scheduled ankle surgery.
In Lviv, a woman had a hernia removed at the same time as she underwent a cesarean section.
