Ovarian cancer, a mass of 42 kg removed in Italy: it was considered inoperable

By Cristiano Antonino On Apr 5, 2023

Mass of 42 kg removed, an ovarian tumor considered inoperable. The record intervention at the Polyclinic of Milan (Italy)

Rachele is 49 years old and works as a secretary in a large company outside Lombardy (Italy).

She has a teenage daughter and a busy job, so she didn’t particularly mind when she started gaining weight in early 2022.

However, the situation precipitated quickly: in less than a year she went from her usual weight, 78 kg, to over 120: it was clear that something was wrong.

With a gynecological visit she discovers the cause: an ovarian cancer that has grown dramatically

It was immediately deemed inoperable by two different structures.

But she Rachele does not lose heart and turns to the Mangiagalli Clinic of the Milan Polyclinic (Italy): the diagnosis is confirmed, the intervention is very complex but it can be tried.

Four hours in the operating room, a few days of hospitalization and then a new life: Rachele has already returned to her hometown, where she will be able to continue the checks for her pathology, without that 42 kg mass that had greatly compromised her quality of life.

“It was necessary to remove the right ovary, which had grown uncontrollably due to the tumor – tell the specialists who operated on the woman – but also to reconstruct the abdominal wall, which had had to adapt to such a voluminous mass.

The tumor, together with its appendages, weighed about 42 kg, a very rare occurrence.

The patient coped very well with the surgery and was discharged in good health, compatibly with her pathology.

Her weight at her discharge had returned by 78 kg ”.

Ovarian cancer of 42 kg, speaks the woman operated on

“When I started gaining weight – Rachele told the surgeons – I didn’t pay much attention to it, because I never had any pain, until I started breathing and walking with great difficulty.

When I woke up after the operation I couldn’t believe it, I was very happy and very grateful.

I was given a chance to continue living next to my daughter, and to see her grow up.”

About 30,000 Italian women are being treated for ovarian cancer, two small organs that are important not only for reproduction but also because they secrete essential hormones (estrogen and progesterone).

Ovarian cancer is an insidious type of cancer, because in the initial stages it does not present particular symptoms or ‘alarm bells’ and even in the more advanced stages these are often not specific.

Furthermore, at the moment there are no screening tests: therefore the diagnosis often takes place when the disease is already in an advanced stage and the chances of a cure are less.

Ovarian cancer accounts for 5,000 new cases every year in Italy, represents about 30% of all malignant tumors of the female genital system and occupies the tenth place among all tumors in women.

It is very often asymptomatic and the diagnosis is generally occasional.

Some factors lower the risk of contracting it: the use of oral contraceptives, pregnancies and breastfeeding, surgical removal of tubes and ovaries; others increase the risk, such as having a high body mass index, having a late menopause, and using postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy.

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