Turkish doctors remove 15 kg tumor from a woman

A woman in Turkey has fully recovered after a 15 kilogram (33 pound) tumor was removed from her abdomen in what authorities said was a medical first.

Surgeons at Hitit University Hospital in Çorum, a city in northern Turkey, removed the 65 centimeter (26 inch) by 36 cm (14 in) tumor in a "technically difficult" four-hour operation, Dr. Sinan Zehir, head of the hospital, said in a statement on Sunday.

"This case is a first in medical literature in terms of the successful removal of a tumor of such size and weight, as well as full patient recovery without any complications," he said.

The tumor was discovered after the 63-year-old patient, whose name was not disclosed, suffered swelling in her abdomen and legs and breathing problems.

A team of four surgeons removed the tumor two weeks ago in an operation that "carried a very high risk of death," Zehir said. She was released from hospital on Thursday.