City docs remove 'world's biggest' brain tumour

Fri, Feb 29 01:20 AM

A MASSIVE tumour, that surgeons claim is possibly the world's biggest, has been successfully removed from the skull of a 50-year-old woman at Gangaram Hospital. The soft tumour grew within the skull but surprisingly did not harm the brain, with the woman not showing any symptoms till a few weeks before the surgery.

Though the operation took place on September 7 last year, doctors revealed details at a press conference on Thursday. Jammu resident Sugra Bibi was admitted three days before her operation last year after she complained of pain in the left leg, along with severe headache, vomiting and blurred vision.

The scans revealed a very large tumour within the skull. Although the success of the operation is yet to be published at a peer-reviewed journal, doctors at Gangaram Hospital claim it is the world's 'biggest'.

"Review of literature shows that the intracranial tumour measuring 16cm x 10cm x 8cm is possibly the world's largest," said Dr Manish Vaish who was part of the neuro-surgery team that carried out the operation. "Since there was no growth outside the brain, I was shocked to know that it was so big.

I only wanted to live and get back to my kids," said Bibi, after her successful recovery. Although Bibi's condition was not serious, doctors say it could have been fatal if further delayed.

"She was operated three days after her admission. The tumour had been slowly growing in her skull, extending on both sides of the brain.

Although it wasn't serious when operated, the case could have got worse if delayed," said Dr Rana Patir, head of the department of neurosurgery. "The tumour was slowly infiltrating and totally obstructing the main drainage channel of blood from the brain.

As it was slow-growing tumour, it was making way for itself as it spread," he said. Dr Patir said that the major technical challenge before the neurosurgeons was its location.

It was growing next to the part of the brain that deals with limb movement. Also the main drainage channel of blood was involved.

The team took six hours to completely remove of the tumour along with its origin. The draining vein of the brain that was occluded by the growth was also removed.

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