Doctors give man new lease of life

Doctors at Al Ain Hospital have given a new lease of life to a 38-year-old father of two by removing a 1.5kg malignant tumour from his lower abdomen. The patient, who had lost about five kg in six months, had complained of severe lower abdominal pain, constipation and had difficulty urinating, said a hospital official. The expatriate had almost given up hope of getting relief from the pain. "It was then he heard about a new advanced surgical treatment technique of embolisation at Al Ain Hospital," said the official. He said the patient had no earlier history of illness and had visited doctors in his home country. Eventually, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his lower abdomen. Doctors had ruled out surgery due to the uncontrollable bleeding from the tumour that made it impossible for them to remove without endangering his life. They tried chemotherapy but the tumour continued to progress. Article continues below "When he approached me, the first step taken was to conduct a complete re-evaluation of his case and a new, complete set of tests were carried out," said Professor Iyad Hassan, Head of General Surgery at Al Ain Hospital. A scan showed the existence of a large, malignant mass near the hip region. "This mass was bleeding profusely from many locations and had invaded the urinary bladder." Doctors used the new non-surgical embolisation technique and then performed a two-stage surgery to remove the tumour. The patient can now take part in normal activities such as sports and social events using special equipment, said the hospital official.