Bhubaneswar: A team of doctors at the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) here successfully treated a girl suffering from hepatoblastoma, a rare liver tumour that had spread to her lungs.
KIMS has thus become one of the few hospitals in India and the first in Odisha to carry out the complex Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) procedure on such a young child, a hospital release said.
It was one of the most challenging multidisciplinary procedures undertaken at KIMS as it involved the coordinated efforts of 15 doctors across seven departments.
The girl, aged 2 years and 7 months, has completely recovered and started playing with friends in the hospital corridors, KIMS said.
The little girl was brought to KIMS with acute abdominal pain, swelling and loss of appetite, after multiple medical consultations across the state.
Investigations revealed that the girl had hepatoblastoma, a rare liver tumour which had already spread to her lungs. Under the care of Prof. Dr Palash Das, Paediatric Hemato-Oncologist, she was immediately administered chemotherapy.
Her condition improved, but the liver tumour was still too large for surgery.
Dr Swati Das, Interventional Radiologist, suggested TACE, a procedure where chemotherapy is delivered directly into the blood vessel feeding the tumour. The tumour responded significantly, shrinking enough to make surgery possible.
An extended liver resection (non-anatomical liver resection) was then performed by Dr Vedavyas Mohapatra (Surgical Gastroenterologist) and Dr Varsha. M Totadri (Paediatric Surgeon), under the guidance of Dr P K Jena, HOD Paediatric Surgery, with critical support from the anaesthesia team. The Paediatric ICU team and Dr Jiten Sahoo, Paediatric Gastroenterologist, provided the child post-operative care.
KIIT and KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta congratulated the team of doctors for the pathbreaking procedure and wished the little one, who braved a medical journey that would test even the strongest of adults, a long and healthy life.
