Dubai doctors remove kidneys weighing 13kg 

Dubai hospital applies to Guinness World Records after ‘record-breaking surgery 

56-year old Emirati patient Ahmad Saeed’s (left) swollen abdomen before the surgery. An X-ray shows the kidneys weighing 13kg in total. Saeed was suffering from polycystic kidneys from birth and had a distended abdomen, but was not aware of it, doctors said.

Dubai: In a first ever surgery of its kind in the UAE, a team of urologists from Dubai Hospital removed a pair of kidneys — each one bigger than the size of a watermelon — from the abdomen of a 56-year old patient, doctors said on Tuesday.

Ahmad Saeed

The doctors said they conducted the five-hour surgery on October 11 and the Emirati patient, Ahmad Saeed, has been discharged from the hospital.

The successful removal of the pair of kidneys weighing 13kg in total is being billed as the biggest kidneys removed anywhere in the world.

The hospital has applied to Guinness World Records as the kidneys weighed six and seven kilograms. Saeed, who is on dialysis, will be going abroad for kidney transplant surgery later, said a Dubai Health Authority spokesperson.

Dr Fariborz Bagheri, head of the urology department at Dubai Hospital, told Gulf News: “The patient was suffering from polycystic kidneys from birth and had a distended abdomen but was not aware of it. This is a genetic disorder that causes the growth of several cysts on the kidney.”

His abdomen was gradually increasing in size and his kidney function was impaired. Finally, the kidneys stopped functioning completely three years ago when he came to us. His abdomen was so big that he resembled a woman in full term pregnancy with twin foetuses. He was in pain and discomfort as the kidneys were pressing on his bowels and abdominal blood vessels. He came to us when the kidneys stopped functioning completely and he was put on dialysis. A CT scan revealed that he had bilateral polycystic kidneys which were so huge that they were compressing his bowels and some of the main vessels on the abdominal wall.”

The removal of the kidneys was advised but the patient refused surgery but he finally consented this month. The surgery was expected to be complicated and Dr Bagheri said he feared haemorrhaging.

“We had a team of three urologists and two anaesthesiologists on our team. A team of general surgeons and vascular surgeons were on standby as we feared there would be many adhesions to the bowel that could damage the abdominal wall or big arteries and veins. Luckily our core team was able to manage the surgery although we had to call in the vascular surgeons when there was some bleeding from a main vein. The surgery was successful and we removed the diseased kidneys.”

Speaking from his home after being discharged, Saeed expressed his relief to Gulf News and thanked the doctors for the miracle. “I have a new lease of life. Before this I could not breathe properly, had such high blood pressure and was suffering from nausea 24/7. I was miserable with pain and discomfort. Now I feel so light and relieved.”

Size of the pair of kidneys

The kidneys removed from Saeed’s abdomen were 40 times bigger than normal kidneys. Dr Fariborz Bagheri, head urologist who led the surgery team, said: “The size of each normal kidney is about the size of a fist weighing about 150 grams. If one were to try and get a graphic idea, a normal kidney is the size of an apple while each of this patient’s kidneys were as big as a watermelon. The left kidney was more than 30cm in diameter and weighed about 6kg while the right kidney was about 38cm in diameter and weighed 7 Kg. Together, the kidneys weighed 13kg.”Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi, CEO of Dubai Hospital said he was thrilled with the feat accomplished by his team of surgeons and was applying to Guinness World Records. “So far the largest kidney removed as listed in the Guinness weighed 2.6kg. So this is indeed larger and might find a place in the records.”