The patient as well as the doctor were taken aback by the size of the cyst that was as large as a watermelon
The patient as well as the doctor were taken aback by the size of the cyst that was as large as a watermelon
When Ulhasnagar housewife Geeta Waghela (25) first felt the bump in her abdomen, she dismissed it as gas.
After four children and a hysterectomy, this was certainly not another bundle of joy on its way.
However, six months later, the bump had swollen and neighbours and relatives were so positive about the approaching delivery that Waghela got herself checked. What emerged subsequently shocked her as much as it did her physician Dr Manoj Jain. The bump was an 8 kg dermoid cyst that measured
11x13 inches, as heavy, and of the same size, as an average watermelon.
"We conducted a sonography to confirm that it was not a baby, but a cyst. The operation took more than an hour and when it was finally removed, we saw that the cyst had grown right up to her chest cavity and would have led to breathing problems, in addition to the pain she was experiencing," said Jain, a gastro-intestinal and laparoscopic surgeon.
"I haven't seen the cyst yet. When the swelling began, I was sure that it wasn't a baby because I had undergone a hysterectomy. However, when it did not stop growing, I began wondering if I was really pregnant again," said Waghela, who was operated at Dr Shetty's Nursing Home in Bandra.
Cysts of the nature are not uncommon (see box), but the size of the one inside Waghela did take both patient and physician by surprise. "People who experience continued abdominal pain despite medication are routinely advised to undergo check-up. Cysts measuring up to three or four inches are common, but the size of this one was not something we had ever seen," said Jain.
What is a u00a0dermoid cyst?
A dermoid cyst is a cystic teratoma that contains developmentally mature skin complete with hair follicles and sweat glands, sometimes luxuriant clumps of long hair, and often pockets of sebum, blood, fat, bone, nails, teeth, eyes, cartilage, and thyroid tissue. Because it contains mature tissue, a dermoid cyst is almost always benign.
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