Chinese doctors removed part of a patient’s crippling 33 pound tumor mass drooping from his head and face on Tuesday, the biggest on record, and his condition was stable, doctors said.
Huang Chuncai, 31, from the southern province of Hunan, could hardly speak because the mass was so huge. His left eye was totally covered, his left ear hung down to his shoulder, and his right ear and jaw were engulfed.
Doctors removed the largest of the tumors in an operation that lasted one and a half hours.
“Medically speaking, Huang’s condition is stable,” the head of the surgical team said. “Until now the surgery has been very successful.”
The fleshy tumor is about 22.4 inches long and has a 38 inches perimeter at its end. Huang stands 4 feet 5 inches high, hospital records show.
He lost his teeth at the age of 25, it said, and his backbone became malformed because of the weight.
An ultrasound of the tumor showed it was full of blood vessels, and the hospital said if surgeons were unable to staunch hemorrhaging for any reason, he could suffer fatal blood loss in two minutes.
“I was so nervous and felt so much pressure during my brother’s operation,” his brother Huang Weicai said.
“I wanted to pray, I was thinking about him all the time, I didn’t know whether to stand up or sit down. When I saw that the tumor had been cut off I could relax. ... He has carried this tumor for more than 30 years. It’s unimaginable.”