“A small dot on the back turned into a 5kg lump”… What happened to the man who had the tumor removed after 15 years?

There is a man in his 50s who carried a 5kg lump on his back. His story was introduced, and after 15 years, he was able to sleep upright after having the watermelon-sized tumor removed. He was moved, saying that the success of the surgery was the best birthday present of his life.

According to the British daily The Delirium, Fidisoa (53), who lives in Madagascar, discovered a small spot on his back in 2009. Since then, the spot has continued to grow, and after 15 years, it has reached the point where it looks like he is wearing a bag under his shirt. He spent all of his life savings of 6.9 million ariary (Madagasy currency unit, approximately 2.1 million won) to remove the tumor and underwent surgery three times in 2015, 2018, and 2021, but the tumor kept growing back.

Despite the pain caused by the tumor, he had to continue working to support his three children. It was not an easy life for him, a builder and farmer who required a lot of physical labor. Then, hope came to him again. The international charity Mercy Ships docked in Madagascar. Mercy Ships, the world’s largest private hospital ship, is an international charity that docks in ports in medically underserved areas and provides free medical services.

On June 7, the day after his 53rd birthday, he finally underwent a four-hour operation to remove the 11-pound tumor. “The abnormal tissue had invaded the muscle, so it took quite a while, but we thoroughly located every part and removed as much as possible,” said Dr. Tertius Venter, a South African reconstructive plastic surgeon who performed the operation. “The benign tumor on his back is now completely gone, and because we’ve removed all the abnormal tissue, it won’t grow back like it did before.”

He is now able to live a normal life, free from the burden and pain he had carried for so long. He said, “I am grateful to Mercy Ship and everyone who made this possible.”

Benign tumor, fibroma, different from malignant tumor, cancer

Tumors are abnormally grown masses due to autonomous excessive growth of body tissues, and there are benign and malignant tumors. Usually, when we think of tumors, we tend to think of cancer, but benign tumors are not malignant tumors. Unlike malignant tumors that grow rapidly and metastasize while infiltrating surrounding tissues, benign tumors do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body like cancer. Therefore, in most cases, the prognosis is good.

Benign tumors can occur anywhere on the body. They are often asymptomatic and do not have a significant impact on health, so there is no need to remove them. However, there are cases where tumors compress blood vessels or nerves or cause symptoms, so they need to be removed. Some people also want to remove them for cosmetic reasons.

Among benign tumors, the fibroma that developed on the back of a man in the story refers to a benign tumor composed of fibers and connective tissue. Fibromas can develop from mesenchymal tissue in almost any organ. The cause of fibromas is unknown. Symptoms are the development of one or more tumorous lesions.

Depending on the location, there may be no symptoms, but as the lump grows, symptoms such as ulcers or organ compression may appear. Since it is basically a benign tumor, if it does not cause problems, it can be observed without any special treatment. If it grows in size and causes inconvenience in daily life, becomes a cosmetic problem, or is difficult to differentiate from a malignant tumor, fibrosarcoma, it can be surgically removed.