UT Medical Center Surgeon Removes Large Tumor

     A surgical team led by Dr. Larry Kilgore, a gynecologic oncologist at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, recently successfully removed a 120-pound non cancerous ovarian tumor from a patient.
    The patient, a 61-year-old Maryville woman, is home recovering. She did not want her name or any photographs of her released, but requested to have her medical story told so other women would not wait, as she did, before seeing a physician.
    “I noticed that my stomach started getting big about 10 years ago, but I just took it as getting older,” said the woman, who family members affectionately call Mamaw. “I was a little overweight anyway, so I just figured I was getting old and gaining weight was part of it.”
    The weight gain, according to Mamaw and other family members, was gradual. That, combined with the general expectations people have of the aging process and the fact that Mamaw is the mother of eight children, all were contributing factors that, in part, resulted in Mamaw overlooking or dismissing this potentially serious health condition, according to Dr. Kilgore.
    “For women who have had several children, the abdomen has been stretched and can accommodate tumors or fluid resulting in low pressure and no substantial pain or discomfort,” Dr. Kilgore explained. “We must recognize that ovary cancer is not a silent disease, as some have called it.
    “While the symptoms are vague, when signs like a constant feeling of abdominal fullness, pressure or constipation don’t go away and are sustained for long periods of time, women should recognize these as symptoms of a potentially serious condition.”
    Mamaw’s aversion to visiting the doctor began long before her stomach began to expand. Mamaw says her eventual trip to The University of Tennessee Medical Center Emergency Department to have her significantly enlarged stomach examined by clinicians marked the first time in 30 years that she’d gone to a doctor.
    “I feel very, very, very fortunate,” Mamaw said. “I think that some of my concern about going to the doctor was that I was scared it was cancer. Had it been cancer, I never would have made it this long.”
    Mamaw said that for all those years, the mass inside her body only caused her minor discomfort, just seeming to be heavy. But she says it recently began to hurt. Within a month, she was rendered barely able to walk and in severe pain. That’s when her daughter brought her to the hospital.
    “I thought I was going to die,” Mamaw recalled. “When you can’t walk more than a couple steps and can’t breathe, it’s very scary.”
    Almost immediately after arriving, Mamaw says, she learned that she had an elevated heart rate and low blood pressure. Quickly, she was admitted to the hospital. Within hours, she saw Dr. Kilgore, had a physical examination and a CT scan and was informed by Dr. Kilgore that she had an ovarian tumor.
    “Fortunately, through the examination and CAT scan, the mass could be characterized as mostly fluid, seeming to come from the ovary and having no obvious malignant features to it,” Dr. Kilgore said. “We could deduce that it was more than likely a benign, but very large tumor. This was still a very serious matter. We assembled a team of clinicians to determine a process for how to remove the tumor and how to adjust her heart rate and blood pressure once it was removed in order to prevent blood clots or a collapse of her cardiovascular system.”
    A multidisciplinary team including Kilgore, Interventional Radiology, Anesthesiology, Surgical Critical Care, Cardiology and Nursing at UT Medical Center created the plan for the several hour process of draining and removing the tumor while also closely monitoring Mamaw and preparing her body and her body systems to function in the absence of the giant mass that her body had sustained for years.
    “If you have any doubts at all, go to the doctor,” Mamaw says. “It’s really important, especially for women to have their female organs checked. Dr. Kilgore is such a fantastic person and I’m really glad he was my surgeon…He’s always really sweet. There just aren’t many doctors who will come up and give you a hug and a kiss. He sure does care about you.”
    And, Mamaw says she must admit now, women also should heed the loving advice of their family members and others in their support system. Mamaw’s husband had asked his wife to visit a doctor for many years. One of Mamaw’s adult daughters, who had been living out of state and hadn’t seen Mamaw for several years before moving back to Tennessee a year or so ago, knew immediately there was a problem.
    “It is so important for a woman, especially age 50 and older, to be checked out at least on an annual basis,” Mamaw’s husband said. “You just never know what could be happening. She was just stubborn and wouldn’t go to the doctor. It’s that plain and simple. I’m just glad she’s OK.”
    Dr. Kilgore suggests the recovery period could take approximately six months. Plastic surgery, he says, could also be required in order to remove some of the excess skin following the removal of the tumor.
    Through it all, Mamaw says she has learned her lesson. She says she will change her healthcare habits and urges everyone else to take care of their health.
    “Go to the doctor,” Mamaw said. “Get screened.”