A 50-year-old Bangladesh man recently underwent a complex procedure at Apollo Hospitals here for a rare tumour in his chest wall. He is doing well now, and will return home in another week.
Mohamed Abdullah was diagnosed with a rare recurrent chest wall chondrosarcoma tumour in 2020 and underwent a surgery to remove it, along with two ribs, at a hospital in his country. Six months later, the tumour returned and doctors advised him to seek treatment in India as they lacked the expertise.
Mr. Abdullah works in his brother’s bakery in Pabna district. He arrived in India over six months ago and sought treatment at a hospital where he was given chemotherapy. But the tumour grew larger, pressing on his heart and throat. He could not breathe or swallow.
The doctors advised him to return home and spend time with his family, recalled an emotional Mr. Abdullah. The enquiries made by his older daughter led him to robotic surgeon Ajit Pai at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. “I was admitted on February 8 for investigations. Two weeks later, the operation was done,” he said.
Dr. Pai, senior consultant in surgical oncology and robotic surgery, said, “The lesion comprised three components, one each in the neck, the chest wall and inside the chest, squeezing the key structures in the neck, the heart, the lungs and the major blood vessels.”
A scan revealed that the tumour involved the sternum (the central chest bone), the collar bones, the ribs, the aorta, the carotid and subclavian blood vessels and the trachea.
A team of doctors, including vascular surgeon Rajarajan Venkatesan, cardiothoracic surgeon M.M. Yusuf, orthopaedic surgeon Arun Kannan, plastic surgeon Chepauk Ramesh and cardiac anaesthetist Bhaskar, planned the procedure.
In a 14-hour surgery done on February 25, the tumour “almost the size of a football” was excised, Dr. Pai said. Three ribs on each side, the collar bones and the sternum were also removed. Dr. Ramesh reconstructed the chest wall with synthetic materials and tissue from the back muscle.
Hospital vice-chairperson Preetha Reddy appreciated the “deep commitment towards patients and high quality work” of the clinicians. “We have always believed that harnessing the right technology and combining it with medical expertise help work miracles,” she said.
The hospital subsidised the treatment cost because of the patient’s economic condition, the authorities said.
Mr. Abdullah will complete radiation therapy this week and return home. He will be reviewed every three months.
