A 71 year old lady presented to us with episodes of fainting & fatigue. Incidentally she had nonspecific abdominal discomfort. Further history revealed loss of appetite and weight. She didn’t have overt gastrointestinal bleeding, vomiting and constipation. Examination revealed a huge abdominal lump occupying majority of the abdomen.
Her investigations revealed severe iron deficiency anemia. Endoscopy and CT scan confirmed that the anemia was secondary to bleeding from the large tumor arising from stomach. Tumor appeared like GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor). It had caused twisting of the stomach. The tumor had bled within it and in the abdominal cavity rapidly worsening the anemia. A biopsy was not done since the tumor was very vascular, had already bled and an endoscopic biopsy was not feasible.
She was optimised after multiple blood transfusions. She underwent a laparoscopic assisted resection of the tumor and was discharged by 4th day after surgery.
Final histopathology confirmed a moderately differentiated GIST. On the basis of tumor size and differentiation, she is started on long term imatinib (anti tumor drug). For more information on GIST, contact
For more information on gastric cancer, meet
Dr D R Kulkarni
Consultant GI & HPB Surgeon, Mumbai
Chairman:
Liver & Pancreas Clinic (LPC) Mumbai
Center for Digestive Surgery (CDS) Mumbai
