“Life-threatening condition treated within 4 hours of surgery giving the patient second chance to life”
Delhi/NCR May 29, 2018:
Doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) recently performed a highly intensive and laborious procedure on a 41 year old Iraqi patient who had a nine kilograms tumour in his mediastinum (a membranous partition between the lungs) crushing his lungs and heart. The tumour was heavy and had placed a massive burden on his heart. This had caused his arteries to constrict, his breathing to become laboured and shallow and sharp pains to shoot up and down his chest. Dr. Udgit Dhir, Director and Head of Department, Cardiac Surgery, Fortis Memorial Research Institute and his team took the challenge of conducting the rare surgery despite of the complications involved which posed a threat to the patient’s life.
Patient Dhyee Saleem had been consistently feeling breathless. He was often heaving and had difficulty in doing everyday routine activities. He was unable to walk or talk without gasping for air. He had consulted several doctors and had undergone numerous tests. However, none of these yielded any concrete results. He was getting tired easily and was not able to do his daily work. His condition deteriorated steadily. This is the condition in which he was presented at Fortis Hospital. After a thorough medical evaluation, which involved ECHO, X – Rays it was revealed that there was a huge lump of mass pressing on the right side of the heart invading the blood vessels, thus restricting the blood flow from the right ventricle to the left ventricle which had led to low supply of oxygen further leading to breathlessness in the patient. Post the diagnosis, the patient was prepped for surgery which lasted for 4 hours. Patient recovered in 3 days, post which he was discharged and is leading a healthy life now.
Dr. Dhir said, “It is very rare to come across such a case. This was a person who was living for several months with a nine kilo tumour. It was a challenging case as the tumour was compressing the right ventricular outflow tract, other adjoining structures and great vessels. The tumour was also creating problems in the breathing process. It had made the expansion of lungs difficult. Employing surgical techniques helped in the successful removal of the tumor”
Dr. Ritu Garg, Zonal Director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute said, “The treatment procedure was in alignment with the hospitals policies of innovation and patient centricity. Yes, the procedure was truly intensive, detailed and difficult to execute. However, knowing that the results we provided our patients excelled those of traditional surgery motivated us beyond anything else. Such surgeries are a testimony to the technological developments in the healthcare space“
Sharing his experience Mr. Saleem said, “It was a state of shock when I came to know that I had a huge tumour pressing against my chest which had led to complications leading a healthy life. Thanks to Dr Dhir’s team who timely diagnosed the tumour and opted for the correct procedure of treatment. If the tumour had remained undetected for a longer period, I would have eventually had a stroke.”
Atypical carcinoids are tumours, which have a very fast growth rate and tend to spread to the other organs. They are much less common than typical carcinoids. These tumours constitute between 10-30% of the carcinoid tumours. They are termed intermediate-grade malignancies. This type of tumour is strongly associated with smoking. Atypical Carcinoid Tumour of Lung arises more often in the proximal airways of the lung and can cause chest pain, breathing difficulties, fatigue, fever, weight loss, and appetite loss. Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and other treatment measures may be used for treating atypical carcinoid tumor.