Success! U.S. doctor removes 198lb tumour from Vietnamese man’s leg in 12-hour operation



A Vietnamese man has come through a 12-hour operation to remove a 198lb tumour from his right leg



Nguyen Duy Hai, 32, is said to be in a stable condition after the surgery at the France-Vietnam hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Leading U.S. surgeon McKay McKinnon led the eight-strong team who began operating on Mr Hai's leg at 8.55am local time this morning.



It worked! Vietnamese man Nguyen Duy Hai, 32, seen with his mother, survived the operation to remove the 198lb tumour on his right leg

Long haul: Leading U.S. surgeon McKay McKinnon, right, and his eight-strong team spent a gruelling 12 hours removing the tumour

They didn't finish until 9.15pm.

Dr McKinnon, who has successfully removed other large tumours in his 30-year career, had been positive about the surgery despite it carrying just a 50 per cent success rate.

Speaking to Tuoitrenew s , a Vietnamese website, before the procedure, he said it was essential for his team to take out the 'nidus' or origin of the tumour to stop the growth returning.

Mr Hai suffers from 'neurofibromatosis' a disease that causes disfiguring tumors to form on nerves throughout the body.

Prep: Dr McKinnon and his patient in the hospital shortly before the surgery

Gruesome: The surgery was broadcast live to a room of press, family and curious medical staff

OPERATION TIME LINE:

6.30am: Nguyen Duy Hai sent to theatre. 6.40am – 8.50am: Mr Hai anaesthetised.

8.55am: Dr McKay McKinnon begins operation.

10am: Doctors remove a 50cm long by 5 - 7cm deep part of the tumour .

11am: Mr Hai ’s family told first phase of the operation is a success.

1.30pm: The surgery team stops for a quick break and to wash medical equipment.

7pm: The tumour is finally removed and operation announced a successful.

9.15pm: Mr Hai sent to recovery room.



The tumour began growing when Mr Hai was a boy and is thought to be the biggest ever recorded in Vietnam.

Over the year it has grown from the base of his spine, snaking up his back and around his thighs.

It is intertwined with bloody vessels making cutting it away potentially deadly.

The strain on Mr Hai's already weakened heart was also a risk. To combat this the team decided to keep him upright throughout the operation.



While the tumour is not cancerous, its sheer mass means it absorbs vital blood and nutrients from Mr Hai’s body, making it weak.



Dr McKinnon agreed to waive his fee for the operation while the remaining costs of around VND 252million (around $12,000) has been raised by family and well wishers at home and abroad.

Mr Hai's family wept after being told he had survived the operation.

They had been anxious after an attempt to remove the tumour in 1997 was unsuccessful. Doctors had been forced to amputate Mr Hai's right leg below the knee.

Speaking before the operation Mr Hai told Tuoitre News, a Vietnamese website: 'It's common for people to fear death, and I’m no exception.



'But when I heard Dr McKinnon had decided to come back to Vietnam one more time to give me a new life, I became more hopeful.'

Gruelling: Mr Hai had been afraid he would die. The operation carried only a 50 per cent success rate

Disability: Mr Hai's tumour began growing when he was a little boy. An operation to remove it in 1997 was unsuccessful leading to his lower leg being amputated

Dr McKinnon successfully operated on a similar size tumour growing out of a Michigan woman in 1999.



He said this patient was older and in worse shape than Mr Hai, but came through the operation and is now leading a normal life.

'She survived that surgery after 50 units of blood transfusion,' he told Tuoitre News. 'She was in the hospital for about six weeks, and required physical therapy for about a year.'

Despite Mr Hai's operation being a success the healing process will not be an easy one.



An infection on the large open wound could easily kill him and he will later have to endure multiple skin grafts and reconstruction operations.

