Doctors remove mass on woman’s neck that was the size of her head

By Amy Reast

A woman was nearly suffocated by a 1.3kg growth that caused her neck to be almost the same size as her head.

Harimalala, 24, began to notice her throat swelling at just 12, and it never stopped.

The then-schoolgirl, from Manakara, eastern Madagascar, tried everything to stop its growth.

The mass ballooned to the point that it began to compress Harimalala's airways - making it difficult for her to swallow, talk and breathe.

The growth got to 1.3kg in weight and was becoming life-threatening before Harimalala learned she could get life-saving surgery.

In August 2024 she underwent a four-hour procedure on board MercyShips' hospital ship 'Africa Mercy' to remove the mass.

Harimalala says she feels like she's now living a "new life" after recovery - and can eat, speak and wear necklaces with ease.

She said: “I feel like I’ve entered a new life because the previous one, it was uncertain whether I would die or live."

Harimalala's sore and swollen throat got worse throughout her teens, and she would hide it with a scarf.

Despite trying medicines and visiting a local healer, nothing could stop the growth.

She became unable to bend down, run, or carry heavy things like water.

It affected her socially too - as she constantly faced stares and gossip from local people for looking different.

She said, before her surgery: "I feel ashamed with people and don't dare go to church because people stare at me.

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"People gossip, they talk – they say I have a big thing on my neck."

Like nine out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa, she was unable to access safe, affordable, and timely surgical care.

But in 2024, Harimalala heard the good news that the Africa Mercy had arrived in Toamasina and she travelled over 600km alone to see the doctors.

The medical team quickly realized her condition was critical and she could not return home until she had surgery.

Harimalala was asked to spend several months at the Mercy Ships HOPE (Hospital Out Patient Extension) Centre, receiving care to reduce the size of the mass before surgery could take place.

During her time there, the medical team were able to stabilize her health and she was able to gain weight.

Then on August 8, 2024, Dr. AJ Collins, who has led Mercy Ships’ thyroid surgery program for 17 years, performed the operation.

He described her condition as, “A typical but massive multinodular goitre, which is the most common type of thyroid pathology worldwide.”

He said: "It tends to compress the airway so breathing and talking and exercising become very difficult.

"It can make it hard to swallow your food.

"Those problems just become worse until they get to a critical point, which I think for her, was close."

He added: "I can't imagine what [it was] like… seeing all the young people around you get on with their lives and do things like getting married and having families or other things.

“She had a deep feeling that wasn't going to happen for her.”

After a complex four-hour procedure, Harimalala was freed of the mass.

Harimalala said: “I really like necklaces, but I had a goitre so I couldn't wear them - but now I can.

“I can get married and have children now because the growth is gone."