Times of India
09 June 2010
By Malathy Iyer
Mumbai, India

Chembur naka resident Vaishali Kamble is clearly relieved. Overnight, she shed 15 kg. No, she didn’t undergo any weight–reduction surgery, but an emergency intervention at civic–run Sion Hospital that perhaps saved her life.

For six months, 28–yearold Vaishali dodged people, tied her abdomen with a dupatta and put up with curious stares as her abdomen seemed to grow every day. Vaishali does a menial job in an industrial unit at Cheetah Camp. When the pain in the abdomen got unbearable, the 70–kg Vaishali went to Sion Hospital. The doctors were shocked to see her. “As it was obvious that she had a growth in her abdomen, we sent her for an emergency CT scan that showed a solid mass,” said Dr Sandhya Iyer, associate professor from the surgery department. A tumour marker test also showed three times the normal reading.

Presuming that the mass was a mesentric cyst (a rare abdominal growth), the surgical unit of Dr M Gore prepared Vaishali for a conventional operation. “We were shocked to find a 10.5–kg mass arising out of her right ovary. The cyst was removed and she has been feeling fine since,” said Dr Iyer and lecturer Dr Bharat Nandu.

The Sion Hospital doctors said little was known about their hospital’s cancer surgeries. “We conduct several advanced laparoscopic surgery at a fraction of the cost that private hospitals charge,” said a doctor.Vaishali’s uterus has been removed as the cancer marker tests were high. “We are awaiting her histopathology report,” said Nandu.

“Big ovarain cysts can develop suddenly and we have seen women with 10– to 14–kg masses, but they usually affect middle–aged or older women. It is rare for such a young woman to have a cancerous ovarian cyst,” said Kiran Coelho, head, gynacological department, Lilavati Hospital.