HYDERABAD: NIMS Hospital made history on Monday in India and possibly the world, by operating on a 7- month-old pregnant woman from Jangaon and removing a 3 kg cancerous tumour from her liver.
According to the doctors, it is the first-ever reported case of primary choriocarcinoma of liver in pregnant women in the Indian population and probably in the world. The 24- year-old woman had stomach pains and a lump and was diagnosed at NIMS as having a cancerous tumour. An interdisciplinary team was formed with doctors from the departments of Surgical Gastroenterology, Gynaecology and Anesthesiology from NIMS and the Neonatology Department of Niloufer Hospital for the operation.
Doctors performed a sixhour long surgery to remove the tumour which was found to be cancerous after biopsy. It is rare for females, especially those who are pregnant to have the same. “Since the tumour was massive in size and has progressed to the extent of there being a rupture during pregnancy/delivery, it was planned to have the surgery in her third trimester,” said doctors from the team.
Preemptively, the doctors also prepared her for risks like severe bleeding, pre-term delivery by putting her on medications that would relax her uterus and prevent any premature contractions.
It was after this, that the doctors performed an exhaustive surgery and removed the tumour weighing around 3 kg, measuring around 25cmsx20cmsx15cm from her liver. The baby continues to be in-utero.
“Immediate postoperative scans and gynaecological examination revealed that both the baby and mother were healthy and doing fine. The patient is having a satisfactory recovery and is fit for discharge,” added Dr N Bheerappa, HOD, Surgical Gastroenterology. The highly specialised surgery was conducted free of cost using CMRF funds.