NEW DELHI: A tumour that doctors described as "double the size of a cricket ball" was removed from the brain of a three-year-old boy from Uzbekistan at a hospital here recently, according to a statement.
A team of doctors at Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital performed the microscopic surgery that lasted for nine hours.
The procedure was challenging as the surgeon had to protect the thin brain arteries that got covered under the tumour, the statement said.
Due to the massive tumour in his brain, he used to have multiple episodes of seizures and difficulty in walking, it noted.
"The child's parents were apprehensive as they had consulted at many places and had been told of the very high possibility of death/permanent disability if he underwent surgery," the statement read.
Speaking about the case, Dr Nagesh Chandra, Senior Consultant and HOD, Department of Neurosurgery at the hospital said they performed the microscopic surgery.
"It was a difficult and a challenging case because major brain arteries got involved in the tumour. The surgery was performed under the neuronavigation system, which keeps guiding the surgeons about the arteries. The child is now seizure-free and runs around everywhere, talks and eats normally," he said.
Dr. Aashish Chaudhry, Managing Director of the hospital, said there was a large volume of blood loss because of the vascular nature of the tumour.
"The child received multiple units of transfusion and it in itself is a challenge to transfuse blood and components in a small child and can have various devastating complications. By the grace of God, he got back his senses six hours after the surgery, neurologically intact without any complications of massive transfusion," he added.