A man has recently undergone a life-changing operation where doctors extracted a 6.8-kilogram (15 lb) tumor that had been in his head for 25 years.
Rabindra Bisui, from West Bengal, eastern India, had synovial sarcoma, an uncommon form of cancer that affects the tissue around the joints.
It's often found in the hips, knees, ankles, or shoulders but can appear anywhere throughout the body.
Highlights
- A 15 lb tumor was removed from a man's scalp after 25 years, significantly improving his life.
- The patient, Rabindra Bisui, had synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that can come from different types of soft tissue.
- The surgery was challenging due to the tumor's size and the surrounding blood vessels.
In Bisui's case, his lump grew quickly in size over a span of seven months, reducing his capacity to work, move, and carry out other daily activities, as per The Sun.
Image credits: All India Institute of Medical Sciences
To remove the 51-year-old's tumor, the AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Healthcare Institute selected a group of specialists from different disciplines, including neurosurgery, anesthesiology, interventional radiology, and surgical oncology.
The surgery was particularly complex, given that Bisui's tumor was "unusually swollen," and the area was surrounded by numerous blood vessels, explained Dr. Sanjay Giri, head of the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.
After a 10-hour procedure, doctors managed to completely remove the tumor without damaging the patient's skull bone.
Bisu did not reportedly experience any post-operational complications.
The AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Healthcare Institute selected a multidisciplinary group of professionals for the 10-hour procedure
Image credits: All India Institute of Medical Sciences
"The tumor had been afflicting him for over two decades," the hospital said in a statement.
"This achievement highlights the dedication and collaborative efforts of a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals."
According to the Cleveland Clinic, synovial sarcoma affects approximately 1,000 people each year. This slow-growing form of cancer is most often seen in people under age 30 and more commonly seen in males.
Many times, synovial sarcoma doesn't affect your body until the cancerous tumor in your soft tissue grows large enough to create a lump or bump you can see and feel around the joints, the medical center adds.
Some people complain of persistent sharp pain, but synovial sarcoma can also grow without causing any pain.
Therefore, this form of cancer can appear as a painless lump that appears on your joints (typically in the hip, knee, ankle, or shoulder) or a sudden sharp pain or swelling in any of those areas.
The surgery was particularly complex, given that the man's tumor was "unusually swollen," and the area was surrounded by numerous blood vessels
Image credits: All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Doctors have different ways to treat it, such as surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy. The selected treatment will depend on the size of the tumor, how long the patient has had it, and whether it has spread.
The survival rate for synovial sarcoma has increased significantly over the past 40 years. Currently, between 59 and 75% of people treated for synovial sarcoma are still alive five years after diagnosis, as per the Cleveland Clinic.
People reacted to the news of the successful operation
