A Norwegian man considered fat for more than a decade had a 60-pound tumor in his stomach.
Thomas Kraut, 59, spent 12 years struggling with his weight and as his stomach grew, doctors assumed he was simply obese and enrolled him in nutrition and weight loss courses.
Dr. Kraut, a German optician who moved to Norway in 2008, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012, eventually being prescribed Ozempic, a diabetes drug turned weight-loss drug.
He said: ‘Also, I had lost so much weight with the diet change and Ozempic that my face and arms were very thin. Only my stomach was huge. The doctor even said she was actually malnourished.’
Thomas Kraut (pictured), 59, noticed his stomach swelling more than 12 years before doctors realized he had a huge tumour.
It took 10 hours to remove Dr. Kraut’s tumor (pictured after surgery), and he still has cancerous tissue in his abdomen.
In 2023, Dr. Kraut was about to undergo gastric sleeve surgery, which involves removing a large portion of the stomach, when doctors realized that the hard surface of his stomach was not fat.
A CT scan revealed a massive tumor measuring 20 inches and weighing more than 60 pounds lodged in his abdominal cavity.
Dr. Kraut said, “It was a real shock to me.”
Now he is suing doctors who failed to detect the cancerous mass for more than a decade.
It took doctors two weeks to diagnose a rare fatty tumor made up of smaller cancerous areas surrounded by fat.
The specific type of dough is unclear. It had also spread to the right kidney and parts of the small intestine.
On September 26, doctors spent 10 hours removing the tumor, along with Dr. Kraut’s kidney and a portion of his small intestine. Although the tumor was completely removed, doctors were not able to remove all of the cancerous tissue from Dr. Kraut’s body.
The enormous tumor, shown here just before its removal, weighed 60 pounds and measured 20 inches in diameter.
Dr. Kraut, photographed before and after the operation, is now suing doctors for not finding the tumor sooner
A portion of malignant tissue remains in his abdomen, and doctors said it is too dangerous to remove due to pressure on several vital organs.
Dr. Kraut said, “It was a relief to have the tumor removed, but knowing that I still have some cancerous tissue inside me is disturbing.”
‘I go to a psychologist for therapy every two weeks. I have to go to the oncologist twice a year because I still have tumor tissue inside me that is growing.’
Dr. Kraut and his wife, Ines, are suing the doctors who missed the tumor for so long, claiming they could have received full treatment if it had been detected sooner.
Although the lawsuit was initially dismissed, Dr. Kraut’s attorneys filed an objection.
Dr. Kraut said, “Everything will work out somehow.”