In an exceptional surgical achievement, a medical team at a hospital in Delhi, India, successfully performed a rare and complex operation to remove a fibroid tumor weighing 18.5 kilograms from a 56-year-old woman, equivalent to the weight of five newborn babies. This is considered one of the largest recorded fibroid tumor removals globally in the past six years.

The patient suffered from chronic symptoms for six years, including severe pelvic pain, difficulty moving, and significant abdominal swelling initially mistaken for ordinary bloating. Symptoms worsened with pressure on the intestines, bladder, and ureter, severely restricting her daily activities.

Medical examinations revealed a massive fibroid tumor in the uterus causing severe distortion of internal organs. The surgery was led by Dr. Dinesh Kansil, Senior Director and Head of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Laparoscopic Surgery, supported by a multidisciplinary team including urology, anesthesia, and intensive care specialists.

Dr. Kansil explained that “the tumor was larger and more complex than initial tests showed, with internal adhesions from previous surgeries, making the operation more challenging.” The surgery took several hours, requiring precise planning and immediate decisions in the operating room, and the tumor was successfully removed without major complications.

Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomas or myomas, are benign tumors that grow in or on the uterine wall. They are among the most common female disorders, affecting 40 to 80% of women with a uterus, especially between the ages of 30 and 50. These tumors vary in size from seed-like to as large as a watermelon and may be asymptomatic or cause severe symptoms such as heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, and pressure on adjacent organs.

Although common, very large fibroids like this case are extremely rare and require high surgical expertise due to complications like adhesions and anatomical distortions. Recently, minimally invasive surgical techniques such as laparoscopy have advanced, but massive cases like this still require open surgery due to tumor size and potential complications.

Removing an 18.5-kilogram tumor is an exceptional achievement, ranking among the largest fibroids removed worldwide, surpassing previous cases such as a 10.8-kilogram tumor removal that caused complications like kidney failure due to organ pressure.