200 lb MONSTER!

[Furball]

Anyone else see this surgical show on Discovery Health? A lady from Mich. had a 200 lb NF tumor that doctors had refused to remove due to poor prognosis. A plastic/reconstructive surgeon from Chicago University Hospital took the huge risk and performed the marathon surgery. She weighed over 300 lbs before sx and 98 lbs after. She required 50 units of blood during the procedure.

The pt was such a sweet lady...never complained and possessed such a positive attitude. It was simply amazing.....LOVE these medical shows!

What hit me watching the surgical team struggle manipulating the heavy tumor was the fact that this tiny woman was able to still walk carrying her load.......

[NurseDennie, BSN, RN]

Teratomas? Maybe dermoid cysts? I'm confused.

Somebody who's not senile can answer this - it's the one where the ovum cell goes nuts and tries to form organs, etc. They take out these nasty tumors with teeth and eyes and sweatglands.

Love

Dennie

[Gator,SN]

I too saw that show and after her surgery and recovery, she gained a bit of weight and she looked like a totally different person! She had a small child, so I think that she was only in her 30's, but when she was sick, she looked like she was 55.

Unfortunately, at the end of the show they said that another small tumor was recently found in her abdomen.

[Kayzee]

Didn't see the show, but wish I would have. I also love this type of programing. I'll watch for it. maybe it will be on again sometime.

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Oh crap, I meant to watch that! Anyone know if it's gonna be on again?

Heather

[live4today, RN]

Hi Dennie........a tumor that grows hair, eyes, and teeth?????? Really now??? I have never heard of anything like that before! Amazing!

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

I've heard of it, but don't remember all of the details, so I'm not gonna talk about it and end up sounding like an a**.

I can't remember which parts were real and which parts I got from a Stephen King novel about the same subject (freaky.....)

Heather

[Heather56]

Dennie, it's called a Dermoid cyst or a teratoma. One theory is that it is a twin ovum that is absorbed by the first and just stays inside slowly growing. You know how every once in a while a tabloid boasts about some man being pregnant? It's probably just a large Dermoid cyst growing in his abdomen!

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/1299/1ill31.htm

.....Hoogewind lost 40 percent of her skin in the operation. The procedure required more than 120 units of blood.

Why didn't she go into DIC or something?

Did radiation cause it to grow?

http://www.radiotherapy.com/opinion-new/Katin/Katin-Jan00.htm

Did this lady have Neurofibromatosis? Did she have other tumors? Don't they grow from nerves?

Poor lady.

[kids]

Originally posted by NurseDennie

Teratomas? Maybe dermoid cysts? I'm confused.

Somebody who's not senile can answer this - it's the one where the ovum cell goes nuts and tries to form organs, etc. They take out these nasty tumors with teeth and eyes and sweatglands.

Love

Dennie

From Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary, 6th Edition:

dermoid cyst, a tumor, derived from embryonal tissues, consisting of a fiborus wall lined with epithelium and a cavity containing fatty material, hair, teeth,bits of bone and cartilage. Kinds of dermoid cysts are implantation dermoid cyst (caused by an injury that forces part of the ectoderm into the body), inclusion dermoid cyst (caused by the inclusion of foreign tissue when a developemental cleft closes) and thyroid dermoid cyst (is believed to have developed in the thyroid gland or in the thyrolingual duct)

also called organoid tumor, teratoid tumor

I know, way more information than ya'll were hoping for.

[Furball]

Originally posted by kewlnurse

I seriousluy have to question the 50 units of blood. 16 pints and your on a complete change over, that would be about 24 units. None of your own blood would be a massuive reaction in the body, sounds like some sensationist journalism going on.

Maybe...

except the surgery was filmed...you couldn't help but notice all the empty bags of PRBC's and what looked like plasma. Everything about this surgery was out of the norm..including length...can't remember exactly but over 18 hours. I still can't believe she survived.

[Furball]

Originally posted by NurseDennie

Teratomas? Maybe dermoid cysts? I'm confused.

Somebody who's not senile can answer this - it's the one where the ovum cell goes nuts and tries to form organs, etc. They take out these nasty tumors with teeth and eyes and sweatglands.

Love

Dennie

Is this the same as a bezoar?

Ewww gross...just looked up bezoar...it's a hairball!

[jschut, BSN, RN]

Yuk! I've never heard of such!

So...what'd you think? Did she receive that much blood, or was it just sensationalism? Either way...that sure is creepy!