8 kg tumour removed in Mumbai
It was with a sense of achievement that 62-year-old Satyavati Sawant, a resident of Andheri, walked a few steps in a ward at Bombay Hospital on Tuesday. Until a week ago, she could barely stand or sleep.
Thanks to a precise surgery, an 8-kg tumour that filled her entire abdominal cavity was removed on Saturday, allowing her to breathe easy. "I am feeling good after a long time,'' she said.
According to her doctors, Sawant suffers from a rare form of cancer called leiomyosarcoma that afflicts the soft muscles, usually in the abdomen.
"Out of a lakh cancer patients, only one suffers from sarcoma,'' said Dr Amit Gandhi, who operated on Sawant on Saturday. About 60% of the sarcomas arise in veins, but in Sawant's case, it arose from the arteries (mesentric artery), he added.
Sawant, a widow, was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago. "Doctors at Nair Hospital recommended surgery, but my mother went into depression after my father's death and refused to go ahead with the operation,'' said Reena, Satyawati's daughter.
Two months ago, when the family went to Sawantwadi for a holiday, the patient's abdomen suddenly started bloating up. "She was in a lot of pain and had difficulty breathing,'' said her daughter-in-law Sharvani.
"We took her to Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, where she underwent treatment. But they were unable to perform an operation for lack of beds,'' said Reena. That is when a family friend directed them to Dr Gandhi.
"As the growth from the intestine was also abutting the inferior vena cava (vein that carries blood from lower body to the heart), we had to be very careful. But we managed to not only save the blood vessels and the intestines, but also removed the growth in one piece,'' said Dr Gandhi.
Sawant now has to undergo rounds of radiation but the prognosis is good, believe her doctors.
However, a senior doctor from Tata Memorial Hospital said this was a routine surgery. "It is not a rare surgery. On the contrary, it is something we at Tata Memorial perform pretty routinely.''
Thanks to a precise surgery, an 8-kg tumour that filled her entire abdominal cavity was removed on Saturday, allowing her to breathe easy. "I am feeling good after a long time,'' she said.
According to her doctors, Sawant suffers from a rare form of cancer called leiomyosarcoma that afflicts the soft muscles, usually in the abdomen.
"Out of a lakh cancer patients, only one suffers from sarcoma,'' said Dr Amit Gandhi, who operated on Sawant on Saturday. About 60% of the sarcomas arise in veins, but in Sawant's case, it arose from the arteries (mesentric artery), he added.
Sawant, a widow, was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago. "Doctors at Nair Hospital recommended surgery, but my mother went into depression after my father's death and refused to go ahead with the operation,'' said Reena, Satyawati's daughter.
Two months ago, when the family went to Sawantwadi for a holiday, the patient's abdomen suddenly started bloating up. "She was in a lot of pain and had difficulty breathing,'' said her daughter-in-law Sharvani.
"We took her to Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, where she underwent treatment. But they were unable to perform an operation for lack of beds,'' said Reena. That is when a family friend directed them to Dr Gandhi.
"As the growth from the intestine was also abutting the inferior vena cava (vein that carries blood from lower body to the heart), we had to be very careful. But we managed to not only save the blood vessels and the intestines, but also removed the growth in one piece,'' said Dr Gandhi.
Sawant now has to undergo rounds of radiation but the prognosis is good, believe her doctors.
However, a senior doctor from Tata Memorial Hospital said this was a routine surgery. "It is not a rare surgery. On the contrary, it is something we at Tata Memorial perform pretty routinely.''
source: TOI
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