Home » Metro » Health and Science
Girl leaves hospital minus 1.9kg tumor
By Cai Wenjun |
July 17, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD girl was discharged from the Shanghai Children's Medical Center yesterday morning after a 1.9-kilogram tumor was removed from her stomach on July 9.
The tumor was so large that it made up more than 10 percent of her body weight. It had compressed her spine, and pushed a kidney and major blood vessels aside. If not treated, she would likely not have survived beyond age 10 due to severely compressed organs, hospital officials said.
Tie Ping, a Gansu Province native, got a swollen belly a year ago. Doctors detected a tumor measuring 15 centimeters in diameter in her stomach with ultrasound. Gansu hospitals were unable to treat her.
Her parents took Tie to the Shanghai Children's Medical Center early this month. Doctors here confirmed Tie had ganglioneuroma, a tumor of the peripheral nervous system. It is the most common tumor among children.
"The girl's tumor was rare in terms of its size," said Dr Xu Min, director of the center's pediatric surgery department.
Doctors said Tie is underweight as the tumor had consumed a lot of her energy and nutrients. The operation was considered somewhat risky because it could have resulted in a large wound, serious bleeding and after-surgery infection. The four-hour operation was completed successfully last Thursday.
Such a tumor is congenital and usually goes undiagnosed until it starts growing quickly. It can grow in any part of the body, but is most common in the belly, along the spine or the neck. The best treatment is surgery to remove it.
"Parents should take their children to hospital quickly if they find a bulge along the spine or in the belly or neck," Xu said. "Most such tumors are benign, but the key is early detection and early removal."
The tumor was so large that it made up more than 10 percent of her body weight. It had compressed her spine, and pushed a kidney and major blood vessels aside. If not treated, she would likely not have survived beyond age 10 due to severely compressed organs, hospital officials said.
Tie Ping, a Gansu Province native, got a swollen belly a year ago. Doctors detected a tumor measuring 15 centimeters in diameter in her stomach with ultrasound. Gansu hospitals were unable to treat her.
Her parents took Tie to the Shanghai Children's Medical Center early this month. Doctors here confirmed Tie had ganglioneuroma, a tumor of the peripheral nervous system. It is the most common tumor among children.
"The girl's tumor was rare in terms of its size," said Dr Xu Min, director of the center's pediatric surgery department.
Doctors said Tie is underweight as the tumor had consumed a lot of her energy and nutrients. The operation was considered somewhat risky because it could have resulted in a large wound, serious bleeding and after-surgery infection. The four-hour operation was completed successfully last Thursday.
Such a tumor is congenital and usually goes undiagnosed until it starts growing quickly. It can grow in any part of the body, but is most common in the belly, along the spine or the neck. The best treatment is surgery to remove it.
"Parents should take their children to hospital quickly if they find a bulge along the spine or in the belly or neck," Xu said. "Most such tumors are benign, but the key is early detection and early removal."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
