Woman's 40-pound ovarian cyst was impeding her ability to breathe

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For seven months, Kavita Kalam walked around her home in Wardha, India, in agonizing pain with massive swelling in her abdomen, reportedly claiming she couldn’t afford a visit to the hospital. When the mass grew so large that she was having trouble breathing, her neighbors rallied to raise money and get her life-saving medical attention, according to The Sun.

Prior to the operation, the woman had been in pain but couldn't afford a visit to the doctor. (Caters News Agency)

At that point, the mass had grown to the size of a pumpkin and had added an extra 40 pounds to the 38-year-old’s frame, Caters reported, according to The Sun.

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“It was so large that it took up 95 percent of the patient’s abdomen with an abdominal circumference of 106-centimeters (41.6 inches),” Dr. Arpita Jaiswal Singam, a gynecologist who operated on Kalam, said, according to The Sun.

Surgeons worked to carefully remove the cyst through a 2-centimeter incision. (Caters News Agency)

The mass was determined to be an ovarian cyst, and was the largest that many at the hospital had ever encountered. It also proved difficult to remove because of its massive size, but surgeons had to act quickly or risk it rupturing in her abdomen.

“It was difficult to remove such a large cyst through limited space,” Dr. Abhishek Kothule, another gynecologist who helped care for Kalam, said, according to The Sun.

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The surgeons operated through a 2-centimeter incision above Kalam’s pubic bone, and were careful to keep the cyst intact. She is reported to be in stable condition.

In addition to the immediate weight loss, she is regaining the ability to eat solid food again.

The cyst weighed 40 pounds and was the largest many at the hospital had ever seen. (Caters News Agency)

In April, surgeons shared photos of a whopping 33-pound cyst that they removed from the abdomen of a 16-year-old, also in India. Photos showed surgeons cradling the massive cyst that looked to be the size of a watermelon and had been causing the teen pain.

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Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs or pockets in an ovary or on its surface, and while many women develop them at some point, most present little or no discomfort and are harmless, typically disappearing on their own within a few months. But larger ovarian cysts, like the one found in these two patients, can cause pelvic pain, fullness or heaviness in the abdomen or bloating, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Risks factors can include hormonal issues, endometriosis, pelvic infection or previous cysts.