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.......
Why didn't they diagnos and remove it before the 200lb mark. Surely she went to the MD when it was noticeable, say 1/4 of her body size (25lb)? Why the delay?
CHICAGO (AP) _ Lori Hoodewind weighed less than 120 pounds. In less than a year, a tumor grew from nothing to almost 200 pounds, enveloping the slender woman and threatening to kill her by leaching away life-sustaining blood and nutrients.
Hoogewind, 40, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was a victim of neurofibromatosis. Formerly called Elephant Man's disease, the genetic ailment causes tumors to grow spontaneously from nerves and afflicts about 100,000 people nationwide. The growths usually are benign but sometimes turn cancerous.
For doctors at the University of Chicago, her case challenged their expertise and ingenuity. Two weeks ago, they removed the immense growth in an 18-hour operation that culminated weeks of planning and will require weeks more of skin grafts.
Expert surgical teams in other parts of the country had balked at the operation, which required the support of cardiac care and skin specialists. Hoogewind lost 40 percent of her skin in the operation. The procedure required more than 120 units of blood.
``It sounds as if this is the largest neurofibroma anyone has seen,'' said Dr. Allan Rubenstein, a neurology professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and an authority on Hoogewind's condition.
Doctors praise Hoogewind's good attitude and intense will to survive. They say their intervention might have been futile without her desire to reclaim life with her husband, Gary, and their 3-year-old daughter, Nina.
``Having something like that to look at changes everything,'' Hoogewind said this week as she glanced at a photo of blond-haired Nina in her room at the University of Chicago's intensive care unit.
The germ of the medical crisis apparently was planted last January, when surgery to remove an orange-size cancerous tumor on Hoogewind's right side was followed by radiation to eliminate the malignancy and to shrink a benign tumor on her leg. The radiation is believed to have triggered the growth of the abdominal mass, which Hoogewind noticed in the spring.
Hoogewind, who until recently did clerical work for a Grand Rapids insurance company, said she has endured tumors and minor surgeries to remove them all her life. Her doctors in Michigan monitored the new tumor, but its rapid growth and envelopment of her torso quickly presented a surgical challenge they considered almost insurmountable.
``Probably more than two-thirds of her blood supply was going to the tumor,'' said University of Chicago plastic surgeon Dr. McKay McKinnon, leader of the team treating Hoogewind. ``I really don't blame the surgeon who says, 'No, I don't want to tackle that.'''
Doctors at the University of Chicago were doubtful, themselves, but Hoogewind persisted, believing that she would not otherwise live until Christmas. She will spend probably another month in intensive care.
Hoogewind's treatment is expected to cost more than $500,000, with insurance covering all but a few thousand dollars. Although her condition almost ensures a return of new tumors, Hoogewind's new doctors say they will catch any future growths before they become dangerous.
Thanks- I think if I knew I was going to die anyway I would say "go for it" and try the surgery and at least have some dignity in my appearance. The poor woman.
thanks for posting the article. this really is fascinating.
for anyone who watched the show....how did they take it out of her? by using their hands or some kind of lift? i imagine that would be 200 lbs of slippery goop.
They failed to mention that once it was removed, it began to make an audible sound from it's sharp pointed teeth. It cried and farted. Then to everyone's suprise, it started to speak. "I do believe I'm not in Hoodewind anymore!" With that said, it bounced from the hoyer lift, rolled across the room and out the doors, cussing and swearing all the way never to be seen or heard of again...or has it?
I think I smelt it in my bedroom last night because after that, I heard some cussing...Nahhhhh, it couldn't have been.....:stone
I did see this some time ago when it first aired...unbelievable, but interesting.
Having read all these postings made me reflect on this woman's situation. When I was in school for my LVN I had a teacher who was a known diabetic (adult onset). She developed a mass within her abdominal cavity weighing about 60 to 70 lbs. As my career progressed I have heard of other diabetics who also have had masses removed which are rather large. I realize that this woman has NF but wonder if she has other comorbidities.
A tumor! Thats the ticket. I'm not really overweight, no; its just an ugly tumor! Do you think when they "suction" out my "tumor" I'll be at an ideal weight? Sorry I couldn't resist, I know, I am one sick puppy making jokes out of a tumor! Did I fail to mention that it is 3:57am. Can I use that as an excuse?
An NF tumor can be one of a few things. It can be a neurofibroma (A usually benign tumor originating in peripheral nerve fibers and composed chiefly of Schwann cells.). It can also be a plexiform neurofibroma (A neurofibroma in which Schwann cells proliferate inside the nerve sheath, producing an irregularly thickened, distorted, tortuous structure. Also called plexiform neuroma.)
canoehead, BSN, RN
6,909 Posts
Why didn't they diagnos and remove it before the 200lb mark. Surely she went to the MD when it was noticeable, say 1/4 of her body size (25lb)? Why the delay?