SUM surgeons remove huge tumor from baby’s abdomen

Opting for a challenging surgery, surgeons at Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here have removed a tumour weighing 7.5 kg from the abdomen of a 20-month-old baby boy recently.

The baby from Ganjam district weighing 14 kg had a bloated stomach for about a year and doctors had diagnosed the condition as Neuroblastoma which required surgery.

The parents of the baby, after visiting several hospitals where the surgery could not be taken up, came to the Pediatric Oncology department of IMS and SUM Hospital, SOA’s faculty of medical sciences.

Though it was a challenging situation, a surgical team led by Surgical Oncologist Dr. Sangram Keshari Panda decided to take up the surgery which took about four hours. The operation was challenging because the weight of the baby was less, Dr. Panda said.

The team, comprising pediatric surgeon Dr. Antaryami Pradhan, pediatric oncologist Dr. Saroj Panda, anesthesiologists Dr. Daisy Karan, Dr. Swarna Banerjee, Dr. Sulochana Dash, Dr. Soumyaa Samal and Dr. Nupur Moda, nurses, pharmacists and other staff, removed the tumour weighing 7.5 kg which remained densely embedded with major vessels, large bowel, pelvic vessels, ureter and urinary bladder.

The baby’s intra operative and post operative course was stormy and challenging but the doctor’s team countered it well. The patient was discharged from the hospital within 15 days.

Dr. Panda said the baby was suffering from a condition known as Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma which could be tackled if detected at an early stage through chemotherapy and surgery. “But in this case, the disease had advanced and the successful treatment was possible because of the joint effort of all concerned,” he said.