'The Great Khali' Has Surgery to Remove Tumor Responsible for Massive Size
WWE superstar "The Great Khali" has been through surgery to remove the tumor on his pituitary gland responsible for his massive size. Dalip Singh, who wrestles under the name "The Great Khali," has joined the ranks of other legends suffering from the same condition.
Singh, a native of India, began wrestling for the WWE in 2006. He made a grand entrance with his 7' 1", 347-pound frame. It did not take long for the formidable opponent to maneuver his way to the top and take the WWE Heavyweight Championship after the world-famous Battle Royal on Smack Down.
Singh is not the first wrestler to make it big in the wrestling industry due to health issues. Andre the Giant was perhaps one of the first, and most well-known supersized wrestler. He was just a little taller than Singh, at 7' 4" and 500 pounds and suffered from acromegaly, a disease that caused his growth hormones to surge.
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Andre grew throughout his entire life and died due to heart failure in 1993. Fans around the world followed Andre's journey from France to the United States, where he became a legend known as "The 8th Wonder of the World" and "The Gentle Giant."
Paul Wight, "The Big Show" also suffered from acromegaly and grew to a height of over 7 feet. He underwent surgery in the 1990s to correct the problem and stop his growth, which would have been continuous and could have possibly killed him. Wight still wrestles and remains a legend in the ring.
"As part of our ongoing wellness evaluation, we are happy that 'The Great Khali' had successful pituitary surgery, and we look forward to him returning to the ring in the near future," WWE spokesman Adam Hopkins told TribLive.com.
If all goes well, Singh should fully recover from the surgery within three months. He is scheduled to be released over the weekend.
