Doctors successfully removed huge 1.87 kg brain tumor

Like a head on another head

Several Indian media are currently reporting an incredible track record. Apparently, an Indian medical team succeeded Dr. Trimurti Nadkarni to remove a huge brain tumor of a patient who, according to Indian media size of 30 x 30 x 20 cm and was thus larger than a football. According to research of the doctors, this is the largest ever removed brain tumor. 31-year-old Santal Pal was operated on February 14 at the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in Mumbai.

The laborer from Allahabad discovered a bump on the back of the head nine months ago, which was growing at a rapid pace. Recently, he underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor in his left leg. "In a month, the bump grew by more than an inch," said the patient's brother Akhilesh Pal to the newspaper "The Indian Express". Finally, until he sat "like a head on another head," Dr. Dr. Nadkarni, head of the neurosurgical department at Nair Hospital.

Indian doctors have apparently successfully removed the largest brain tumor in the world so far. (Image: fotoliaxrender / fotolia.com)

The sheer size of the tumor was a challenge

According to the media, the operation lasted six hours until finally the 1.87 kilogram tumor could be removed. In such operations, patients are basically at risk of massive blood loss. The patient needed eleven preserved blood to survive the operation. "We had to cut through the bone. The sheer size of the tumor was challenging, and we needed to make sure that blood pressure was maintained throughout the operation, "Dr. Nadkarni.

The largest distant brain tumor in the world?

According to some doctors in the Nair Hospital, the tumor could be the largest that has been removed from the brain worldwide. Such a case has not been cited in any medical journal. According to medical research, the largest brain tumor to date was removed in 2002 at the King Edwards Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, which weighed 1.4 kilograms.

A strenuous odyssey for the patient

After the patient was dismissed from multiple hospitals or placed on long waiting lists, the Nair Hospital took care of the case. After some examinations such as CT angiography, CT scan and MRI, it was found that the blood vessels in Pals brain had grown into the tumor, providing the tumor cells with fresh blood. The tumor had also reached part of his brain and began to grow outside the skull bone, Indian media reports.

Many patients come too late

"We get about 500 cases of brain tumors every year. Of these, at least 50 percent of patients are at an advanced stage, "explains Drs. Srikant Balasubramaniam, who works at the neurosurgical department of Nair Hospitals. Certainly, the financial situation of many Indians also plays a role here. "He only earns 9,000 rupees (just under 113 euros) per month. We could not spend much, "said Manju, the patient's wife.

German doctor doubts the information

The German neurooncologist Marion Rapp from the University Hospital Dusseldorf doubts that it is a brain tumor. "Then the tumor would have to consist of nerve cells and they do not grow that much," said the doctor to the press agency dpa. On the basis of the available information, the doctor suspects that the tissue outside the skull has begun to grow and then spread out into the interior. The Indian doctors are currently having the extracted tumor tested in the lab. (Vb)