KOCHI: Alfia Fatima, a nine-year-old from Kilimanoor, Thiruvanathapuram, who was diagnosed with a rare tumour that covered 95% of the windpipe, has got a new lease of life. With severe shortness of breath, Alfia was not able to speak or even eat. For nearly a year, Alfia was undergoing treatment for asthma but all in vain. Instead of open surgery, through a rigid bronchoscopy procedure at Amrita Hospitals, she became well and was discharged last Thursday.
Due to her health issues, she was not able to attend any of the online classes for the past year. "I can walk and talk now," says Alfia. She plans to go to school when it opens.
After suffering severe shortness of breath, she was admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram last January, where she had been given treatment for asthma. Initially, the doctors were unable to identify anything 'suspicious' after examining the child’s X-ray. A CT scan at another hospital in Thiruvananthapuram revealed that the child had a tumour in her lungs. The doctors even suggested open surgery to remove it. Meanwhile, the child experienced severe shortness of breath and was put on a ventilator. When her situation was not improving, she was rushed to Amrita Hospital last week.
The team led by Dr Tinku Joseph, Chief of Interventional Pulmonology, and Dr Gopan, Cardiac anesthesiologist, Amrita Hospitals, successfully removed the tumour, which had severely affected the tube in the child's lungs. According to the doctors, the windpipe to the lungs was completely blocked by the tumour and the child could not lie down or even eat.
"The tumour is called tracheal schwannoma, which occurs in the windpipe rarely. The complications and high costs associated with open surgery were avoided due to the rigid bronchoscopy technique. Alfia returned to Thiruvanathapuram along with her parents after staying at the hospital for two days," said Dr Tinku. Alfia, daughter of Sameer and Seena from Kilimanoor, is a sixth class student of Government HSS, Kilimanoor.