United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi – 30 April 2017: Urologists at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, one of the country’s leading private healthcare facilities, recently performed a complicated surgery to remove a renal tumor that threatened the life of 61-year-old British expatriate, Christopher Lutman.
Mr. Lutman came to the hospital with complaints of blood in his urine – a condition called hematuria. Subsequent investigations, using diagnostic tools such as ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT scan) to locate the cause of the bleeding, revealed that he had a big kidney tumor – measuring 10 cm x 8 cm – in the lower pole of the right kidney.
Renal cancer often occurs in men in their 60s and 70s. One of the most common symptoms of this type of cancer is blood in the urine. “Since Mr. Lutman presented this as a primary symptom, we ran tests and discovered a large malignant tumor,” said his surgeon Dr. Hamdy Aboutaleb, Consultant Urologist at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi. “The tumor was growing fast, so we decided to perform the surgery and remove the kidney. But considering that he weighed 130kg, which is categorized as morbid obesity, the case became more complicated and very challenging.”
Although his obesity put Mr. Lutman at serious risk, the surgical team ensured that his health, his safety, and his comfort are major priorities. Dr. Aboutaleb led the four-hour medical operation with a team of international experts: Dr. Amr Ahmed Massoud , Specialist – Urology, and Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Ahmed , Consultant – Anesthesia / Critical Care Medicine.
“While on average the kidney weighs around 280gms, the tumor weighed 1800 gm. It is very large that removing it became extremely demanding,” explained Dr. Aboutaleb. “ Due to the cancerous nature of the tumor, we had to remove the whole kidney and the surrounding suprarenal gland in one block.”
The surgery went successfully with Mr. Lutman responding very well and was discharged on the third day following the surgery. Post the procedure, Mr. Lutman was able to return to his everyday activities and routine, without any pain or difficulty.
“I am now cancer-free and this is a miracle,” said Mr. Lutman. “The team at Burjeel Hospital is remarkable. They were on the ball when it came to treating the cancer as quickly as possible and stopping it from spreading. They have been very attentive of my needs since the beginning and it made a meaningful difference to my stay under such traumatic circumstances. I cannot thank Dr. Aboutaleb and his friendly team enough.”
