20-cm tumour removed from patients head

Anoop Singh (58) came to Chrisitian Medical College and Hospital a month ago with a complaint of a large swelling in the head...

Anoop Singh (58) came to Chrisitian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) a month ago with a complaint of a large swelling in the head,progressively increasing in size over a year. For the last three months,however,the wound had become infected and started emanating foul smell.

When we conducted a MRI,we found that the tumour was at least 20 cms in its maximum dimension and had eroded the skull,covering of the brain and reached the base of the brain, said Dr Vijay Obed,plastic surgeon at CMCH.

We sent pictures of the tumour and the MRI scans to leading neurosurgical institutes in India and abroad. To our dismay,even they had not seen a tumour like this, added the doctor.

The initial biopsy reported it to be a rare kind of spindle cell sarcoma,(a type of cancer). A complicated surgery to remove the tumour had to be performed which involved skin,bone,brain coverings and the affected portion of the superior sagittal sinus.

Following this,the plastic surgery team led by Dr Vijay Obed had to do a scalp flap coverage and skin grafting. It took about 12 hours to complete the entire procedure, said Dr Obed.

The patient is doing well after surgery and will require further treatment based on the detailed biopsy report. Surgery for this type of tumour has not been reported from any part of India,however there are two case reports which have been reported from Western countries, he added.

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