Chennai: Doctors from Kauvery Hospital in Chennai have performed a “complex surgery on a nine-year-old girl to remove a rare type of spinal tumour”.
A team of doctors led by Dr G Balamurali, head of department – spine surgery, had performed the surgery to remove the rapidly growing and aggressive tumour which was compressing the spinal cord and causing difficulty in her walking.
Initially, the parents were reluctant to go to the hospital for a check-up when the patient had a minor fall and developed a limp in her walk. Afterwards, the family had consulted a general physician, who had advised the patient to take up physiotherapy sessions. When the difficulty in walking increased even further, they consulted Dr Balamurali, through a video consultation and they were asked to visit the hospital immediately to avoid any further complications.
“Exact diagnosis of the condition helps in proper planning of the surgery, especially in a complex situation like this. A paediatric spine tumour is considered to be very rare in nature and its removal requires utmost precision and expertise, especially in such a young patient. MRI scans revealed aggressive tumour in the spinal bones, with more than 50 per cent compression of the spinal cord and high blood supply to the tumour. Before the surgery, we performed a pre- operative embolization that helped in reducing the blood loss during surgery which helped in optimum excision of the tumour,” Dr Balamurali said.