Doctors at Mpilo Central Hospital on Wednesday removed a tumour weighing 30kg from the belly of a 39-year-old mother of seven, Portia Gowero.
The growth, which Gowero lived with for two years, accounted for two-thirds of her actual weight by the time it was finally removed.
A team of 10 medical practitioners led by renowned gynaecologist Professor Solwayo Ngwenya successfully removed the tumour from Gowero’s belly during a two-hour-long surgery at Mpilo Hospital on Wednesday.
The tumour had been growing inside her belly since February 2021.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Mpilo Central Hospital chief medical officer Dr Narcisius Dzvanga confirmed that the tumour weighed 30kg. Said Dzvanga:
We have a female from Mutare who was struggling with a growth in her tummy. This was operated on Wednesday and a 30kg mass was removed from her tummy.
It was quite a big operation and went on very well. It was remarkable work done by our staff members led by Professor Solwayo Ngwenya himself and I would like to congratulate my staff for doing such a successful operation despite the complications.
Gowero, who is stable and recovering at Mpilo, said when the tumour started developing she never took it seriously as she suspected that she was carrying her eighth child. She said:
I was breastfeeding my seventh child in February 2021 when I noticed that my tummy was growing.
I had to wean her thinking it was another pregnancy only to be told two months later that there was no baby.
I would feel a heavy weight on my tummy and this thing continued to grow until it affected my breathing.
At first, I went to Mutare Hospital with the hope that they would help me but sadly I did not get help and the tumour kept growing daily.
I was transferred to Parirenyatwa in Harare with no luck until I resolved to seek spiritual help from prophets who saw me sell every valuable possession including 15 goats, two cows, a solar system and household property just to get answers.
Gowero said she decided to visit her sisters who stay in Bulawayo after some of her relatives in Mutare started treating her as an outcast. She said:
I live off peasant farming and I was struggling to work in the fields which also affected me.
I was always in distress and carried this tumour for two years and five months.
I lost a lot of property trying to find answers until I decided to visit my siblings who stay in Bulawayo as I was being ill-treated.
My sisters then brought me to Mpilo and I was lucky that on April 1 I found Professor Ngwenya doing rounds and it was decided that I be admitted and monitored to diagnose the problem.
When they decided I had to be operated they highlighted that I need a blood transfusion and we struggled to get three pints as my blood group is not easily accessible.
Gowero added that after weeks of getting medical attention and sessions of blood transfusion, doctors said she was ready for an operation.
Mpilo public relations officer Sister Norma Mabhena said the Gowero first came to the hospital, she was weighing a total of 75kg and was struggling to walk, eat and breathe properly.
She thanked the Government whose initiatives ensured that Gowero had access to blood for free. Added Sr Mabhena:
We had two surgeons including Professor Ngwenya who was the team leader, two anaesthetists, six nurses, and several healthcare workers in and outside the theatre working flat out during the two-hour-long major operation.
I think we last had this kind of surgery years ago when a team of our staff members operated on a woman who had a cyst weighing 25kg.
Sr Mabhena said Gowero bled a lot during surgery and so far the cause of the tumour hasn’t been established.
Meanwhile, in 2008, another woman had a 25kg big cyst removed from her womb at Mpilo Central Hospital.
The team which operated on the woman was also led by Professor Ngwenya then.
More: Pindula News