Pediatric surgeons at Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa were astonished to find and remove a massive 2.6-pound (1.2-kilogram) tumor from a 4-year-old girl's abdomen during surgery, a tumor that constituted more than a tenth of her 24-pound (11-kilogram) body weight.
After successfully removing the tumor, medical staff said, "Past experience in similar cases teaches us that with children, no matter how large the tumor, the chances of recovery are good."
Last Sunday, the girl, a resident of northern Israel, was brought to the hospital by her grandparents after complaining of severe pain in the kidney area. Doctors performed imaging tests, after which the girl underwent complex surgery led by two senior doctors in the Pediatric Surgery Department, Dr. Arkadi Vachyan and Dr. Ran Steinberg.
"When we performed imaging tests, we realized that this was a large tumor. When the girl was already in the operating room and we saw the tumor with our own eyes, we realized that the imaging even underestimated its size," Dr. Steinberg, the department director, explained.
"During surgery, when the surgical team successfully removed the tumor with an accompanying senior oncologist, it was weighed, and its enormous size was revealed."
Dr. Ran SteinbergPhoto: Nitzan ZoharHe added that according to medical literature on cancerous tumors in children, grandparents have an important role in identifying and raising suspicion when something seems wrong about the children. That's because they do not see the child every day, which makes it easier for them to identify changes in the child's behavior, as well as physical changes. He recommends paying attention to suspicious signs of children's health.
According to Dr. Steinberg, his department encounters at least ten cases of similar tumors a year. This case was unique because of the sheer size of the tumor and its proximity to the right kidney and central arteries, making the surgery more complex. "This is fantastic, it also gives the girl and the parents strength to fight. There is a positive outlook," he explained. The girl is expected to be discharged home in the coming days.