Jesus Rodriguez, 2, holds onto the hand of his mother Maria Fernandez, in a play area of La Raza Medical Center, in Mexico City, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Mexican doctors successfully removed a 33 pound (15 kg) benign tumor protruding from the boy's right side, connected to the body from the armpit to the hip, and weighed more than Jesus. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
(AP) — Mexican doctors say they have successfully removed a 33-pound (15-kilogram) benign tumor from the body of a 2-year-old child.
Dr. Gustavo Hernandez says the tumor was heavier than the child who at the time of the June 14 surgery weighed 26 pounds (12 kilograms).
Hernandez said Tuesday the child from the northern state of Durango was born with a lump that eventually covered the right side of his body from his armpit to his hip.
In this still image taken from an undated video released by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, an image created through medical imaging technology shows an X-ray-like image of 2-year-old Jesus Rodriguez, prior to having a benign tumor removed from his body. Mexican doctors successfully removed a 33 pound (15 kg) benign tumor protruding from the boy's right side, connected to the body from the armpit to the hip, and weighed more than Jesus. (AP Photo/IMSS)
Hernandez says it took doctors at the La Raza Medical Center in Mexico City 10 hours to remove the tumor. Hernandez is the director of pediatrics at La Raza hospital.
He says the boy is recovering and doing well. The doctor also said the operation marked the first time Mexican doctors have removed a tumor bigger than the person carrying it.
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