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The patient’s ultra-rare condition — which also left her with giant growths all over her neck and arms — initially left medical experts baffled.

It was only when they cross-checked her symptoms on the internet they discovered she had the rare illness Madelung disease.

The condition — usually seen in male alcoholics — causes fatty tumours called lipomas to form all over the body.

In a British Medical Journal case report, doctors reveal their shock when she first checked into the Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York.

“At first glance, we noticed multiple swellings all over the body — around the neck, upper back and upper extremities, which were very peculiar to the medical team,” they wrote.

The woman then revealed she had been suffering progressive muscle weakness for the previous 12 months. Her condition was so bad she found it difficult to leave her own home.

She also admitted she had been drinking heavily for 40 years.

Blood tests revealed she also had ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition normally seen in people with type 1 diabetes.

This is where the body starts metabolising fat, leading to the formation of waste products called ketones. Decades of drinking had also left her with fatty liver disease.

The woman agreed to stop drinking, which could halt the disease’s progression, but refused liposuction surgery to get rid of the lumps.

To discover whether the mystery lumps were cancer, they sent her for scans, and found they were benign lumps of fat beneath the skin.

This led to her being diagnosed with Madelung disease — a rare illness associated with alcoholism, diabetes, fat disorders, liver disease and usual found among people of Mediterranean ancestry.

The symptoms vary greatly from person to person, but it usually causes fatty tissue to accumulate under the skin, leading to a loss of mobility in the neck.

It is not yet understood how heavy alcohol drinking leads to the disease, but in non-alcoholics it may be caused by changes in the DNA in cells.

The woman said she had been aware of her deformities for five years, but they didn’t bother her physically, and she didn’t care how she looked.