A tumor as big as a football continuously grows in the body of a 22-year-old girl.

More than a year ago, Ms. PTT H, 22 years old in Dien Yen, Dien Chau, underwent surgery to remove a large ovarian cyst on her left ovary, the size of a football (28 x 26 cm). At that time, the tumor had occupied almost the entire abdominal cavity, compressing and pushing up the intestinal loops.

At the end of 2020, Ms. H and her family received good news when she was pregnant with her first baby. This was also the time when Ms. H. discovered that she had a left ovarian cyst measuring 8 x 6 cm. Unfortunately, Ms. H. had to terminate the pregnancy when the baby was diagnosed with multiple fetal malformations.

Recently, noticing that her belly was getting bigger and bigger, and the feeling of heaviness and pain in her lower abdomen was getting worse, Ms. H. decided to visit Vinh International Hospital. Through the results of the ultrasound of the uterus and ovaries, a tumor measuring 22 x 19 x 10cm was discovered, with many small cysts inside.

Ms. PTT H noticed that her belly was getting bigger and bigger, and she felt heavy and uncomfortable in her lower abdomen. Photo: Kim Chung

With a history of surgery for a large ovarian cyst about 1 year ago, doctors suspected that the patient might have ovarian cancer. A quick consultation between the Obstetrician and the Radiologist decided to perform a pelvic MRI and open surgery to remove the ovarian tumor for treatment.

Image of doctors at Vinh International Hospital performing surgery on a patient. Photo: Kim Chung

The surgery was successful after 60 minutes. Doctor Nguyen Van Hai and his team performed surgery to remove the entire ovarian tumor and the adnexa (T), and drained more than 2 liters of fluid. Examination of the tumor tissue showed that the fluid in the tumor was mucus and many small cysts resembling bunches of grapes. Immediately after that, the specimen was sent for pathology, the result was that ovarian mucinous cysts accounted for 60% of all ovarian tumors, 15% were malignant.

Patient's specimen after surgery. Photo: Kim Chung

After surgery, patient H.'s health was stable and he no longer had abdominal pain.

Ovarian cysts are common tumors in women. The disease often develops silently with vague symptoms, and is often only discovered by chance. Although ovarian cysts can rarely develop into cancer, when they become malignant, they progress very quickly. Therefore, regular gynecological examinations are the best way to detect potential risks early. If the patient has a cyst, a solid tumor and is eligible for surgery, surgery should be performed early./.