A woman in Thailand, Ratchanaporn, believed she was gaining weight due to unhealthy eating habits. But the real reason behind her growing belly was far more serious: an 8kg ovarian tumour that had been silently growing inside her body for years.

Ratchanaporn and her family thought she was simply overweight and never imagined she might be suffering from a medical condition. Things took a turn when she suddenly started having trouble breathing. Her family rushed her to Satun Hospital in southern Thailand, where doctors ran tests and discovered a massive cyst, around 30 cm wide, pressing against her internal organs.

The cyst was so large that it made surgery complicated. On July 31, a team of doctors performed a six-hour-long operation to remove the tumour. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and caused no complications. After the cyst was removed, Ratchanaporn’s weight dropped from 86 kg to 75 kg, a difference of 11 kg.

Her mother spoke to local media and said, “Her stomach looked like she was pregnant with twins. We thought she just ate too much. We never imagined it was something this serious.”

Similar case

In a similar case, a 24-year-old woman in Mexico found out she had a massive 34kg ovarian tumour after wondering why her weight kept increasing, even while on a diet.

The woman had difficulty walking, breathing, and eating. Doctors discovered that a huge ovarian cyst was putting pressure on her organs and even risking her heart health. Dr Erik Hanson Viana at Mexico’s General Hospital performed surgery and successfully removed the tumour in one piece.

He said the tumour was the largest he had ever operated on, measuring half a metre across and taking up 95% of the woman’s abdomen. The cyst had a circumference of 157 cm and is believed to be one of the biggest tumours ever removed.