WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A woman had an 88lb tumour removed from her ovaries after spending a year not understanding why she was gaining weight so rapidly.

The unnamed 57-year-old Brazilian was already overweight before the mucus-filled tumour started growing and had no ostensible side effects other than a slight difficulty breathing.

When she eventually visited the doctor because of her expanding 52inch (132cm) waistline, an ultrasound revealed the huge mass – 16.5inch by 15.7inch by 11inch (42cm by 40cm by 28cm) – according to the Journal of Medical Case Reports, which published her story.


The 88lb tumour was removed from the ovary of a 57-year-old Brazilian woman who just thought she was fat

An obstetric surgeon at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, Dr Jonathan Herman told Live Science that mucus-filled ovarian cysts, known as mucinous cystadenomas, are common among women aged 30 to 50, though most are benign and disappear without treatment.



Some, however, will continue to grow until they meet resistance.

Herman said: ‘When you cut it open, mucus just comes pouring out. Mucus is very heavy, so they grow to a large size.’

Images of the tumour being removed from the patient in 2003 have only now been published in Live Science

Reported only now, the woman’s operation happened in 2003, when surgeons also removed part of her fallopian tubes, uterus and lymph nodes. She was also treated with chemotherapy because the tumour was exhibiting cancerous properties.

Ten years on, the patient is well and the tumour is showing no signs of regrowth.