A 32-year-old man from Da Lat underwent an operation on Jan. 5 to have a 90kg tumour removed from his leg.

The operation for Nguyen Duy Hai was done at the France-Vietnam Hospital in HCM City by a team of surgeons led by American doctor McKay McKinnon.

His mother, 61-year-old Nguyen Thi Cho Con, said Hai was transferred to the FV hospital on December 27 from the HCM City Tumor Hospital, where the operation was first scheduled to be conducted on November 18. The venue was changed later because of better facilities at the France-Viet Nam hospital.

"I sit here and pray for my son now. I believe in the doctor," she said, staying away from a big screen that showed the operation live.

According to the hospital, Hai was in good health and no longer suffered lung problems that had been noticed during the time he was at the HCM City Tumor Hospital.

During the operation, Hai would need between transfusions of 15 to 25 blood units, doctors have estimated. They also said that after the surgery, he would be closely monitored in an intensive care unit for seven days. They are hoping his heart and lungs resume functioning normally 10 days after the surgery.

At 11 a.m. on Jan. 5 e hospital announced that the first phase of surgery had been successful.

Fourteen years ago, Hai's tumour, then weighing 25 kilogrammes, was operated upon and removed at the Lam Dong General Hospital, but it recurred again and continued to grow to its present weight of 90 kilogrammes. His family was too poor to afford another operation after the amputation in 1997 failed to stop the growth.

After local media released pictures of his tumour, doctors from the HCM City Tumor Hospital visited his house. They said he was suffering from a genetic disorder called Von Reckling Hausen disease, which caused nerve tissues to grow into tumours. His mother suffered from the same condition as well, doctors said, but has not suffered extreme symptoms.

A film crew from California-based Morningstar Entertainment has been covering the operation. It had recently filmed Hai's case in Da Lat. The company is producing a documentary on the tumour and the surgery to be aired on Discovery Channel./.