A team at the Regional Hospital of the Social Security Institute (IPS), Paraguay’s social security and public health institution, in Ciudad del Este removed a retroperitoneal mass weighing about 14 kilograms from a 52-year-old patient. Pathological examination identified a well-differentiated liposarcoma, a malignant tumor originating in fat tissue cells.
The mass measured approximately 21.9 x 20.7 x 13.5 centimeters and displaced the left kidney. The procedure was performed after a multidisciplinary evaluation. Information released by IPS does not specify the date of the surgery or the patient’s clinical progress.
Oncologic surgeon Rodrigo Apestegui and Anesthesiology chief Francisco Paiva were part of the team, along with second-year residents Dinilo Paniagua and Júnior Zárate, first-year resident Katherine Villalba, and circulating nurse Lilian Ortega.
The hospital’s director, Rocío Martínez, highlighted the participation of residents trained in the country’s interior. The surgery also illustrates the capacity to perform specialized procedures in Alto Paraná, reducing the need for patients in the region to travel to Asunción for care.
The case comes amid an expansion of medical training within the IPS network outside the capital. Performing a complex operation in Ciudad del Este demonstrates local capacity for this procedure, although it does not, by itself, establish how regularly this type of care is available to other patients.