A YOUNG girl who complained of tummy pain was found to have an 8lb tumour filled with hair, teeth and bones in her stomach.
Sarah Davis, 42, rushed her 12-year-old daughter Ruby-Mae to Centro Medico Cabarete Hospital, Dominican Republic, when she complained of abdominal aches.
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The mum – who had moved from the UK – was concerned her little girl might even be pregnant when doctors examined her “bloated” tummy.
However, a scan revealed Ruby-Mae had a rare type of germ cell tumour called a teratoma, which can contain teeth, hair, and bone.
These tumours are usually discovered at birth, but Ruby-Mae’s had been growing undetected for years.
Doctors suspected the tumour had developed when she was in the womb.
Luckily, it was non-cancerous. But it had grown so large it had caused her appendix to burst, which can be life-threatening.
Ruby-Mae was rushed for surgery to remove the tumour that weighed in at 8lb – the same as a newborn baby.
She recovered well, and Sarah hopes to raise awareness for other parents.
‘PERFECTLY HEALTHY’
Sarah, a teacher originally from Nottingham, said, “It was so scary when I rushed her to the hospital.
“I knew she wasn’t sexually active yet, but it did still cross my mind.
“When I looked at her bloated tummy in the hospital, I said, ‘Is there anything you want to tell me?’
“I just couldn’t believe she had a tumour all those years.
“We had absolutely no idea or warning about it.”
Ruby-Mae was a “perfectly healthy” child with no symptoms leading up to the discovery.
In September 2019, when she was 12, Ruby-Mae went to her mum complaining that her “tummy hurt.”
I guess it’s always important to listen to your children and trust your gut when something doesn’t seem right
Sarah Davis
Sarah said: “She asked me, ‘Is this an appendicitis?’ “And I said that she would be in agony, so it’s not that.
“She had just started her period, so I thought it was linked to that.
“I gave her some pain relief, and she seemed fine for the rest of the day.”
The following morning, Ruby-Mae woke up complaining that the pain had returned and was much worse.
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Feeling concerned, Sarah, who moved to the Dominican Republic six years ago, took her daughter to A&E to get things checked out.
During a scan, the nurse spotted some sort of mass, and Ruby-Mae was sent for a CAT scan on the stomach.
INTERNAL DAMAGE
It was then that doctors diagnosed her with the rare teratoma tumour that had likely been growing since she was in the womb.
“About five or six doctors from different departments were coming in to look,” Sarah said.
“As soon as you hear the word tumour, you start to panic.
“But doctors assured us that this one wasn’t cancerous.”
How serious are teratoma tumours?
A teratoma is a rare type of germ cell tumor that can contain teeth as well as more complete body parts.
They start in your reproductive cells, like the eggs and sperm.
This is why they can turn into many different types of tissue, like hair, muscle, liver, brain and even eyes.
Most teratomas are benign, meaning they are noncancerous.
However, it’s still important to have them removed.
If not removed, they can rupture and cause infection.
In some cases, they can turn malignant (cancerous).
Malignant teratomas require chemotherapy to get rid of.
In most cases, these tumours don’t spread like aggressive cancers.
As a result, most teratomas — even cancerous ones — have excellent survival rates with early diagnosis and treatment.
What are the symptoms?
People with teratomas may not show any symptoms at first.
Once symptoms develop, they can vary significantly depending on the tumour’s location.
General teratoma symptoms may include:
- Pain
- Bleeding
- Swelling
- Slightly elevated levels of the hormone BhCG (beta-human chorionic gonadotropin)
- Slightly elevated levels of tumour marker AFP (alpha-fetoprotein)
But you may also develop specific additional symptoms based on the location of the teratoma tumour.
Source: Cleveland Clinic
Despite being benign, the size of the tumour was causing internal damage to Ruby-Mae.
It had grown so large it was pressing on her appendix, causing it to rupture, which can spread an infection through the body, which can be fatal.
‘SO RARE AND UNUSUAL’
The little girl was rushed to surgery, where they cut a vertical incision from above her navel and down her stomach.
Surgeons had to remove her appendix and the tumour – which weighed in at 8lb.
Sarah said: “It was very scary, but she was brave.
“We thought she would be in hospital for weeks, but she recovered very quickly.
“She was up walking 12 hours later and able to go home after a couple of days.”
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Ruby-Mae, now 16, has recovered well since surgery and didn’t need any further treatment.
Sarah said: “It’s so rare and unusual – I had never heard of it before.
“She’s been left with quite a large scar but I do worry I should have taken her to hospital sooner.
“We have saved her appendix, but we went in just in time.
“I guess it’s always important to listen to your children and trust your gut when something doesn’t seem right.”
