CHENNAI : The right limb of a 44-year-old woman from Oman was saved by a team of doctors from Apollo Cancer Institute, who chose to remove a massive cancer tumour from the knee of the patient instead of amputating the leg. Maryam Salim Said Al Isaii, from Oman was referred to Apollo Cancer Institute by Ministry of Health, Oman, after hospitals she approached in Thailand, Hongkong, London, and Bengaluru suggested amputation of lower limb. But, the patient didn’t want to lose her leg.
As days passed, the size of the tumour increased to the size of a small football. The swelling and unbearable pain made her immobile for three months. “She was diagnosed to have recurrent chondrosarcoma, a type of bone cancer tumour, and was complex in size,” said Dr Mayilvahanan Natarajan, orthopaedic oncologist, Apollo Cancer Institute.
The tumour was encasing major blood vessels, so, extra care was taken to cut it. “The surgery took eight hours. The patient attempted to walk on the second day of the surgery with the help of physiotherapist and a walker,” he said.
The patient was operated three years ago at Mumbai, before reoccurence in 2016. “They had removed only the tumour. But now, we have removed the surrounding part, and the bone and indigenous prosthesis is placed. The tumour weighed 550 g and it took three hours to remove. The cost of the procedure and the treatment is `15-`20 lakh. The patient is ready to be discharged,” said Dr Mayilvahanan.