Beach-ball size tumour removed from Taltala woman

Kolkata: A 40-year-old woman, Sahazadi Khatoon, from Taltala underwent a six-hour surgery at NRS Medical College after doctors removed an abdominal tumour the size of a beachball. A biopsy revealed the mass as Myxoid Liposarcoma, a rare malignant cancer. She returned home from the hospital on Saturday.Doctors said the sheer size of the lesion made it an incredibly high-risk case, with the surgical team navigating a ‘minefield' of major blood vessels and vital organs to remove the mass. "The tumour was abutting the body's largest vessels, requiring extreme precision to ensure no catastrophic bleeding occurred," said a surgeon.Doctors said the massive abdominal mass measured 36.5 × 30.7 × 16.3 cm, following 18 months of progressive abdominal swelling that left Khatoon in critical condition earlier this year. They said Khatoon's condition worsened from mild discomfort in late 2024 to a medical emergency, with severe respiratory distress and a rigid, distended abdomen.The patient previously underwent a diagnostic laparotomy in July 2025 at the Calcutta National Medical College, where initial findings suggested a benign myxoid neurofibroma. However, the growth could not be removed due to its complexity, and it continued to enlarge aggressively. An MRI conducted on Feb 27, 2026, showed the cystic lesion displacing bowel loops and exerting pressure on the aorta, kidneys and pancreas.The surgery on April 20 was led by Debasis Ray and Anirban Das (assistant professor), supported by the anaesthesia team of Dipankar Mukherjee and Enakshi Saha. The patient remained on ventilator for 48 hours. Doctors said she later developed a ‘burst abdomen', in which the surgical incision reopened, and she was taken back to the operating room on May 4. Her recovery was managed with multiple blood transfusions, albumin infusions and intensive supportive care.