Appendectomies, procedures to remove the appendix from the body, are fairly common procedures. So when a 16-year-old girl went in to get her appendix removed, she never expected that the procedure would then lead to other medical issues.
In a recent publication, doctors wrote that during a 16-year-old girl’s “routine appendectomy,” they discovered a four-inch tumor on one of her ovaries.
They decided, then and there, to remove the tumor, so they could avoid performing a second operation on the patient.
After the tumor was removed, doctors dissected it for examination. They never expected that the tumor would contain “matted hair,” tissue that resembled brain matter, and a bone that looked vaguely like a skull.
The brain was even “well-differentiated and organized to an exceptionally high degree,” very similar to an actual brain, and even contained part of the brain stem.
While this might sound horrifying and never let you sleep peacefully again, Dr. Jennifer Wider, M.D., says these sorts of tumors, called teratomas, are actually fairly common. About 20% of ovarian tumors are made up of these body-like contents.
Dr. Wider explained, “They are formed when a mass of cells inside a body grows into different tissue types, including bone, nerves, hair, and even teeth. They’re typically a benign [i.e. not cancerous] tumor surrounded by a capsule, making them relatively easy to remove.”
Even so, knowing all of these medical facts doesn’t really keep us from getting the shivers from just thinking about this too much…
