Hyderabad: Rarest of rare tumour removed by Care doctors

Hyderabad: The doctors at Care Hospitals at Nampally removed a rarest of rare tumour in a five-hour long surgery performed on a 47-year-old farmer.

According to the Hospital authorities, a 47-year-old farmer approached Care Nampally complaining of severe headaches for the past two months. He had no comorbidities or history of any complaints and was previously treated for migraine before he approached the doctors. The headache was peculiar, limited to the front of the head with irrelevant behaviour. He was also experiencing frequent bouts of cold in addition to difficulty in smell, which were attributed to Covid-19.

On detailed examination, the patient was found to be having a large-sized tumour inside the brain and sinus. The radiology department favoured the probability of a fungal infection. A bifrontal craniotomy was planned considering all the risks and benefits associated with a surgery. This was a highly effective surgery for the treatment of anterior skull base lesions.

Elaborating on the uniqueness of the case, neurosurgeon Dr K Vamshi Krishna said, "initially, we went ahead and removed the tumour in frontal sinus and later, upon opening the dura we found a pus locule which was quite unusual in a fungal tumour and firm tumour along with it.

What followed was a 5-hour surgery, involving the entire team of experts who operated tirelessly and with precision to remove the tumour. Later, upon thorough examination of the slides, informed that the tumour is quite rare, and it is called 'Teratocaricnosarcoma'. The expert surgical team that handled this extremely unique and critical surgery included Dr K Vamshi Krishna, Dr Satish Singh, Dr Vijaya (Pathologist), Dr Vikram, (Radiologist) and Dr Qasim (Anaesthetist).

The patient was successfully discharged in good health. It has been three months since the surgery and the patient was doing fine as he continues to visit the hospital for follow-ups. He has also been receiving radiotherapy for the same.

Speaking about this noteworthy achievement, Chief Operating Officer of CARE Hospitals, Nampally Syed Kamran Husain said that Teratocarcinosrcoma was a rare sino nasal tumour with less than 100 cases reported worldwide in literature and with very rare extension of less than 10 cases in the brain.