Grandma with over 50Kg tumor has life changing surgery

A grandmother with a debilitating growth weighing the same as a baby hippo, has undergone pioneering surgery to remove it.  Charlene Branham had been trapped in her home for ten years because of the 112lbs (over 50Kg) mass on her stomach, which hung between her legs. The 40-year-old could barely walk and remained a prisoner in her home, unable to work and relying on her mother Debbie to look after her. But she has been now been given a new lease of life after a surgeon, specializing in large tumors, operated to remove the ginormous growth. Called a penduculated pannus, the condition is caused when abdominal fat becomes distended and hangs down dangerously below the body.
Charlene, from Aurora, Missouri, became so disabled she could barely move and could not find clothes to fit and resorted to wearing a bed sheet like a toga. Desperate for help, Charlene spent years by herself in her bedroom scared of being seen, and her weight soared to 550lbs (250Kg). She first noticed the growth in 2005, but had often got cysts on her skin, so ignored it.
More graphic pictures after the cut

'After it started, it continued to grow and I just didn't want to go anywhere, I didn't want to leave the house. It just kept on getting bigger and bigger so eventually I went to the doctors.'
By the time Charlene sought help the mass was so large it hung down to her ankles, dragging along the ground when she walked.nBut Charlene was saved thanks to the determination of her family physician Dr Allison Heider who kept searching for a surgeon who could help her. The doctor found expert plastic surgeon Dr Vip Dev at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital in California, who had successfully removed other giant tumours. Charlene was terrified of surgery, but the desire to be well enough to play with her young grandson gave her the motivation to change her life.

Most doctors had been afraid to cut into Charlene's growth due to the number of veins involved, and fearing her organs might have been pulled out of position. Dr Vip Dev said it was one of the largest and challenging masses he had encountered. But, in an operation lasting little over an hour, Dr Dev and his team were able to remove the gigantic growth. It took two doctors just to lift the mass.