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Lucica Bungheze watched helplessly for years as the tumor on her back grew larger than she.
The 160-pound bundle of nerve cells and blood vessels -- some measuring as wide as a thumb -- threatened to kill the 47-year-old Romanian mother, who became so disabled she could barely walk.
Bungheze had almost given up when she saw a TV show depicting the plight of another woman -- a woman whose situation bore striking similarities. The Discovery Health Channel program chronicled University of Chicago physicians as they successfully removed a 200-pound tumor from Lori Hoogewind of Michigan.
Last year, the team of U. of C. doctors traveled to Romania to do the same for Bungheze. And now it's the Romanian woman's success story that will be broadcast on Discovery Health Channel. The program, titled "160-lb Tumor," will air several times over the next few weeks, starting tonight at 7 p.m.
"Lucica said she was contemplating ending her own life because she was so miserable," said Dr. Lynn Kahana, the U. of C. anesthesiologist who worked on both women, along with surgeon McKay McKinnon. "When I saw her for the first time on video months later, I couldn't believe it was the same woman."
The unusually large tumors growing on the nerves of Bungheze and Hoogewind were caused by the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis. Their growths thrived by feeding off nutrients in blood, malnourishing the women's organs and slowly starving their bodies.
"They were both emaciated," Kahana said. "The tumor becomes a giant parasite, and they were literally being taken over."
Romanian doctors twice tried to remove Bungheze's tumor only to call off her surgery over fears she'd bleed to death. Bungheze then traveled to England for an operation, but doctors there backed out, calling the procedure too risky.
A Romanian newspaper reporter learned of Bungheze's situation and contacted local doctors who reached out to the U. of C. team. Bungheze had become too sick to travel to Chicago, so last January, Kahana and McKinnon went to her.
It took 12 hours in the operating room to painstakingly remove the tumor while keeping Bungheze's blood loss under control -- a major challenge when operating on a growth that weighs more than the average human. Romanian doctors had come up with 50 units of blood products for Bungheze's surgery. By the time the surgeons were finished, they'd used all but one.
also while this happend, almost everyone i romania went to pray for her, now thats what you call love o.o
Bungheze spent five months in the hospital recuperating. Her story, like Hoogewind's, has a happy ending.
"After the surgery," Kahana said, "she said to me in Romanian, 'I will now be able to plan for my grandchildren, not for my funeral.' "
i just watched this miracle, they did gather up 100 units of blood just incase, all 100 units were ready to be used if needed, only 50 were put up and 49 units were used, this, is a TRUE miracle, ^^
The 160-pound bundle of nerve cells and blood vessels -- some measuring as wide as a thumb -- threatened to kill the 47-year-old Romanian mother, who became so disabled she could barely walk.
Bungheze had almost given up when she saw a TV show depicting the plight of another woman -- a woman whose situation bore striking similarities. The Discovery Health Channel program chronicled University of Chicago physicians as they successfully removed a 200-pound tumor from Lori Hoogewind of Michigan.
Last year, the team of U. of C. doctors traveled to Romania to do the same for Bungheze. And now it's the Romanian woman's success story that will be broadcast on Discovery Health Channel. The program, titled "160-lb Tumor," will air several times over the next few weeks, starting tonight at 7 p.m.
"Lucica said she was contemplating ending her own life because she was so miserable," said Dr. Lynn Kahana, the U. of C. anesthesiologist who worked on both women, along with surgeon McKay McKinnon. "When I saw her for the first time on video months later, I couldn't believe it was the same woman."
The unusually large tumors growing on the nerves of Bungheze and Hoogewind were caused by the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis. Their growths thrived by feeding off nutrients in blood, malnourishing the women's organs and slowly starving their bodies.
"They were both emaciated," Kahana said. "The tumor becomes a giant parasite, and they were literally being taken over."
Romanian doctors twice tried to remove Bungheze's tumor only to call off her surgery over fears she'd bleed to death. Bungheze then traveled to England for an operation, but doctors there backed out, calling the procedure too risky.
A Romanian newspaper reporter learned of Bungheze's situation and contacted local doctors who reached out to the U. of C. team. Bungheze had become too sick to travel to Chicago, so last January, Kahana and McKinnon went to her.
It took 12 hours in the operating room to painstakingly remove the tumor while keeping Bungheze's blood loss under control -- a major challenge when operating on a growth that weighs more than the average human. Romanian doctors had come up with 50 units of blood products for Bungheze's surgery. By the time the surgeons were finished, they'd used all but one.
also while this happend, almost everyone i romania went to pray for her, now thats what you call love o.o
Bungheze spent five months in the hospital recuperating. Her story, like Hoogewind's, has a happy ending.
"After the surgery," Kahana said, "she said to me in Romanian, 'I will now be able to plan for my grandchildren, not for my funeral.' "
i just watched this miracle, they did gather up 100 units of blood just incase, all 100 units were ready to be used if needed, only 50 were put up and 49 units were used, this, is a TRUE miracle, ^^
