HYDERABAD: Doctors at KIMS Hospital have performed a complex surgery on a two-year-old boy suffering from an advanced stage of neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that affects about eight in one million children.
Rakshith, a toddler from Lallaguda, was diagnosed with the disease, which typically begins in immature nerve tissue and affects children under five. In most cases, it originates in the adrenal glands above the kidneys but can also develop in nerve tissues of the neck, chest or pelvis, according to a release.
In Rakshith’s case, the tumour was particularly complex, the release said, adding that it had invaded the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC), a major vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower body to the heart, and was also encasing his right kidney.
Dr Madhu Devarasetty, senior consultant surgical oncologist at KIMS, led the surgery. “Initially, we started chemotherapy, but the tumour responded poorly. Surgery became inevitable. We feared the kidney might have to be removed, but thanks to the collective expertise of our team, we managed to excise the tumour while preserving the kidney,” he said.