A Norwegian man who had been dismissed as fat for more than a decade had a 25-kilo tumor in his stomach.
Thomas Kraut, 59, struggled with his weight for 12 years and as his stomach expanded, doctors assumed he was merely obese and enrolled him in weight loss and nutrition courses.
Dr. Kraut, an optician from Germany but who moved to Norway in 2008, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012, eventually being prescribed the diabetes-modified weight loss drug Ozempic.
He said: ‘In addition, with the diet change and Ozempic I had lost so much weight that my face and arms were very thin. Only my stomach was huge. The doctor even said I was actually malnourished.’
Thomas Kraut (pictured here), 59, noticed his stomach swelled for 12 years before doctors realized he had a huge tumor
It took 10 hours to remove Dr.’s tumor. Kraut (pictured here after surgery), and he still has cancerous tissue in his abdomen
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In 2023, Dr. Kraut was about to undergo gastric surgery, which removed a large portion of the stomach, when doctors realized that the hard surface of his stomach was not thick.
A CT scan revealed a massive tumor measuring 50 centimeters and weighing more than 60 kilos located in his abdominal cavity.
Dr. Kraut said, “It was a real shock to me.”
He is now suing the doctors who have failed to detect the cancerous mass for more than a decade.
It took doctors two weeks to diagnose him with a rare fatty tumor, made up of smaller areas of cancer surrounded by fat.
The specific type of mass is unclear. It had also spread to his right kidney and parts of his small intestine.
On September 26, doctors spent ten hours removing the tumor, along with Dr. Kraut and part of his small intestine. Although the tumor was completely removed, doctors were unable to remove all of the cancerous tissue from Dr. Kraut’s body.
The enormous tumor, shown here just before removal, weighed 60 pounds and measured 20 inches in diameter
Dr. Kraut, pictured before and after surgery, is now suing doctors for not finding the tumor sooner
Some of the malignant tissue remains in his abdomen, which doctors said is too dangerous to remove because it puts pressure on several vital organs.
Dr. Kraut said, “It was a relief to have the tumor removed, but it is disturbing to know that I still have some cancerous tissue inside me.
‘Every two weeks I go to a psychologist for therapy. I have to go to the oncologist twice a year because I still have tumor tissue growing inside me.’
Dr. Kraut and his wife Ines are now suing the doctors who failed to discover the tumor for so long. They claim that he could have been completely treated if the tumor had been discovered earlier.
Although the lawsuit was initially dismissed, Dr. Kraut’s attorneys filed an appeal.
Dr. Kraut said, “We’ll be fine.”