Chennai: “Medulloblastoma – brain tumour – is the second most frequent condition in children, comprising nearly 14 per cent of newly-diagnosed brain tumours. It occurs in two million people per year, and affects children 10 times more than adults,” said Gleneagles Global Health City senior consultant neurosurgeon and functional neurosurgeon, Dr Nigel Symss.
He was addressing media here recently, where a four-year-old Sudan boy with medulloblastoma was treated recently.
Dr Nigel said, “The brain tumour is invasive, rapidly grows and spreads through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and metastasize to different locations along the surface of the brain and spinal cord.”
The child was suffering from headache, vomiting and impaired balance for two months. Initial investigations done at a hospital in Sudan showed a large tumour on the back of the brain, which is suggestive of tumour medulloblastoma with accumulation of excess CSF, known as hydrocephalus. It leads to repeated, severe vomiting, lethargy and headaches that frequently occur in the morning and improves as the day goes on.
He underwent a procedure in Sudan to help relieve the pressure on the brain caused by fluid accumulation. This primarily treated the hydrocephalus. Following which the child was brought to Chennai for a surgery to remove the tumour.
“The child underwent a procedure to remove a small part of the skull at the back of the head, to gain access to the tumour. After surgery the child was managed in the neuro-intensive care by a specialised team of intensivists. Two weeks after his surgery, he was found to have weakness of all four limbs. The MRI scan of the spine showed the tumour had spread to the cervical spine. He was started on cranio spinal radiotherapy and gradually improved in his limb weakness, and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. The latest MRI scan of the brain and spine after radiotherapy showed no recurrence of the tumour and the spinal metastasis had regressed. He is now awaiting chemotherapy,” an official press release stated.