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Man Has Melon-Sized Tumour Removed After Living With It For 24 Years

A man has undergone surgery on his neck to remove a tumour the size of a melon - which he lived with for almost 25 years.

Ian Crown’s tumour is believed to be the third largest of its kind in the world, and the 66-year-old lived with it for 24 years before finally having it removed.

The lump, weighing a whopping 1.2kg, started growing in 1992 but Ian said it became “a part of him” and he learned to live with it.

He said: “It started growing in 1992 but I’d got used to it after all those years, it was a part of me that grew with me. I’d come to accept it but in the end I did get fed up of it and wanted it removing.

“It never hurt, I was able to sleep fine and the only time it really bothered me was in the summer. When I got to retirement age though I felt it was time for it to go.”

Ian Crown: A changed man [SWNS]

His surgeon, Mr Ganapathy Dhanasekar, ENT and thyroid consultant at Scunthorpe Hospital, North Lincs., said: "The tumour was what we call a pleomorphic adenoma, which is a benign tumour of the parotid salivary gland. It was a slow growing tumour, the size of which presented us with quite a challenge."

Happy with the outcome [SWNS]

Mr Crow had a biopsy test and a number of scans before having a two-hour operation to get it removed.

Mr Dhanasekar added: "It was a challenge, but it all went very well and the scar is healing nicely and the most important thing is that the tumour was benign. He doesn’t need any more treatment now and it was great to be able to offer this treatment locally for him."

All images: SWNS