World's tallest woman leaves hospital
Chinese doctors report the world's tallest woman is walking again after spending a month in the hospital to treat complications of her gigantism.
Yao Defen, who is just over 7 1/2 feet tall, has a number of medical problems resulting from a benign tumor on her pituitary gland that makes it secrete excessive amounts of growth hormone, the Shanghai Daily said Friday.
Yao, 36, gained most of her height during childhood, and while her body still produces excess hormone, doctors think she won't continue to grow.
"She has shown good responses to medicines we used on her tumor, which is expected to shrink by 30 percent when we do surgery," a hospital spokesman told the Daily.
Walking with the aid of crutches, Yao is looking forward to living a normal life without having to depend on others, the newspaper said.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
