Audio By Carbonatix
Indian doctors have removed a kidney weighing 7.4kg (16.3lbs) - as much as two newborn babies - from a patient.
It's believed to be the largest kidney ever removed in India - a kidney usually weighs between 120-150g.
The patient was suffering from a condition called Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, which causes cysts to grow all over the organ.
One doctor involved in the operation said large kidneys were common in patients with the disease.
However Dr Sachin Kathuria, from Sir Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi, said doctors generally would not remove the organ unless there were symptoms of infection and internal bleeding, as they were performing at least some filtering functions in the body.
"This patient had contracted a bad infection that was not responding to antibiotics, and the kidney's massive size was causing the patient breathing difficulties, so we had no choice but to remove it," he said.
Dr Kathuria added that doctors were expecting a large kidney when they operated, but the size of this organ had still surprised them.
"His other kidney is even bigger", he told the BBC.
He said the heaviest kidney according to the Guinness World Records is 4.5kg, although urology journals had records of kidneys that were even heavier than this one. One from the US weighed 9kg while another from the Netherlands was 8.7kg.
Dr Kathuria said doctors had not decided whether to submit their findings to the Guinness commission as a world record, but they were "considering it".
According to the NHS website, Polycystic kidney disease is a common hereditary condition, which causes problems when patients are between 30 and 60 years old.
It causes kidney function to deteriorate until it finally culminates in kidney failure.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Government launches rCOMSDEP to promote responsible mining in Western Region
26 minutes -
Foreign Affairs Ministry procures 20 pickups to improve passport services
31 minutes -
Oil prices retreat as investors weigh supply outlook, Middle East tensions
39 minutes -
Mahama Ayariga highlights Jimi reclamation project as effort to tackle flooding
45 minutes -
Ayine pushes duty-lawyer scheme to protect suspects at police stations
52 minutes -
Fire at GRIDCo’s Mallam Substation cuts power to parts of Accra
56 minutes -
Stephen Amoah criticises 20% digital services tax as excessive
58 minutes -
Ghana secures $3.5bn investment commitments to revive oil and gas sector – Jinapor
1 hour -
Court to hear Wontumi’s bail application today
1 hour -
DPC flags six companies for data protection breaches Â
1 hour -
Chief Justice appointment from outside Supreme Court possible but unlikely – Bentil
1 hour -
NEDCo replaces faulty transformer at Saasigli
1 hour -
Dr Seidu Jasaw urges climate financiers to align funding with farmers’ planting seasons
1 hour -
Bank of Ghana urges public to uphold dignity of local currency
1 hour -
Global Chairman of World Assemblies of God Fellowship lauds Mahama’s sterling leadership
1 hour