Doctors at Chennai's Kauvery Hospital remove huge tumour from infant's spine

Image for representational purpose only

New Delhi: Imagine what it would feel like to have your newborn undergo a surgery as soon as he/she arrives in the world.

In one of such emotional cases, a five-day old infant recently underwent a risky surgery at Chennai's Kauvery Hospital to remove a 15 cm by 18 cm tumour located on the back of her spine.

Initially, doctors wanted to withhold the surgery until the baby reaches 5-6 kgs, but since the tumour was growing at an aggressive pace they had to undertake the delicate procedure in haste. At the time of operation, the baby was only 2.9 kg and five-day old.

“We knew if we waited, the tumour would ruputure. It had grown by at least 2cm in less than a week,” said Dr G Balamurali, spine and neurosurgeon.

He said the tumour was diagnosed during pregnancy, at 20 weeks, adding that an MRI scan of the baby revealed that the tumour was very big, although the she was born through a normal delivery.

The complex surgery lasted for about seven hours and involved a team of doctors including a paediatric surgeon, a plastic surgeon and paediatric anaesthetists.

The baby was born to Rekha and Santhanam, a farmer in Vellore, and is the first child of the couple.

The child was operated under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.