Times of India
23 February 2011
By Pratibha Masand
Mumbai, India

For 30–year–old Akhtari Ansari, the normal delivery of her fourth child a week ago, was a moment of happiness. Her family was relieved to see that the baby girl was hale and hearty, even though Akhtari had developed a tumour in her ovary during pregnancy.

Akhtari had been getting pain in her abdomen since last July. The following month, the pain became so severe that her family took her to Sion Hospital. "I found that I was almost five months’ pregnant," said Akhtari.

The tests also revealed that there was a mass of cancerous tumour growing on her left ovaries. "An ultrasound revealed that the there was a 28–week–old ovarian cyst tumour. This had pushed her uterus to the right," said Dr Niranjan Chavan, a gynecologist at Sion Hospital.

"Since she was in the sixteenth week of pregnancy, it was very important for us to remove the tumour to save the child. Had it gone undetected, it could have led to abortion, miscarriage or still birth, " he said.

The doctors decided to perform a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy. "We inserted a scope through a small incision near her navel. We introduced two ports with the help of which we were able to remove the tumour," said Chavan.

Akhtari said, "I had to keep coming to the hospital for routine check–ups. My delivery was normal and the baby is doing fine."