Doctors Remove 25kg Tumour From Woman’s Back After 10-Hour Surgery

The tumour stretched from her shoulder to her ankle. Warning: graphic images.

Surgeons in southern China have successfully removed a huge tumour from a 35-year-old woman's back.

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REX/XJZ/Quirky China News

According to the Rex news agency, the woman, Yan, had tumours all over her body, but the largest stretched from her right shoulder to her ankle.

Yan's tumours reportedly began growing rapidly a decade ago, and the one on her back became so big it distorted her spine.

She earned her living polishing shoes on the side of roads, and couldn't afford to have the tumour removed at first. But people began donating money, and eventually she had enough to undergo the crucial surgery.

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REX/XJZ/Quirky China News

After ten hours of surgery, surgeons in Changsha, Hunan Province, managed to remove the 25kg tumour.

"I may not come to visit the hospital if the tumor wasn't too heavy and didn't press me too much," the news agency quotes her as saying.

REX XJZ/Quirky China News

Commenting after the complex operation, chief surgeon Fan Peng said: "Most of the body nutrition was supplied to the tumor, which exerted heavy pressure to the heart.

"The most challenging part was how to control the blood loss. A mistake could cause massive haemorrhage.

"To avoid large blood loss we have to speed up operations. However, in case we hurt the nerves and cause the paralysis of her, we have to do it slowly. It's quite conflictive."