Doctors in Kazakhstan's Almaty city have successfully removed a 2-kilogram sacrococcygeal teratoma from a newborn girl whose total birth weight was just over 4 kilograms, meaning the tumor accounted for nearly half of her body weight.

The rare and challenging operation was carried out at the Center for Pediatric Emergency Care in Almaty, Qazinform reports.

The baby, named Ayazhan, was born on August 18 by cesarean section at just 34 weeks of pregnancy after her mother developed abdominal pain.

Doctors had already identified the tumor during prenatal screening when the pregnancy was at 20 weeks.

Immediately after birth, neonatal resuscitation specialists and surgeons transferred the premature newborn to the pediatric emergency center for treatment.

Surgeons Samatbek Myrzakhmet and Begaly Torebek performed the operation the following day, with anesthesiologist Ulykpan Alseitov providing anesthesia.

The medical team removed the large tumor and then carried out reconstructive plastic surgery. Doctors said the procedure was successful and that the child should have only minimal scarring, with no expected long-term discomfort.

According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, sacrococcygeal teratomas are generally not malignant at birth, but they can become cancerous during the first six months of life.

For this reason, doctors typically recommend removing the tumor as soon as possible after birth.

Ayazhan has now been discharged from the hospital in stable condition. She is the long-awaited child in her family after four boys.