Bhubaneswar: Doctors at the SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) in Odisha capital have successfully treated a nine-year-old girl suffering from a rare condition known as Pheochromocytoma.
Shreeya Themria, who came to the hospital complaining of breathlessness and sweating, was found to have hypertensive crisis with heart disease. She had been experiencing intermittent headaches for the past one year. Doctors, who had treated her earlier, had found that she was suffering from Stage 2 hypertension and prescribed medications to treat the condition.
At SUMUM, Dr Pradeep Kumar Dey, Head of the Department of Pediatrics, examined the patient and advised detailed investigations. “We evaluated her condition thoroughly, and the diagnosis revealed that she was having Pheochromocytoma with hypertensive heart disease. She was carrying a 70-gram tumour located in the adrenal gland. In this condition, the tumour releases hormones that may cause high blood pressure, headache, sweating and symptoms of a panic attack,” said Dr Dey.
“It is a rare tumour that occurs in one in five lakh children and accounts for 0.5 per cent of children with hypertension,” Dr Dey said, adding that Pheochromocytomas are rare but treacherous catecholamine-producing tumors which, if not diagnosed or appropriately treated, would invariably prove fatal.
Shreeya’s blood pressure and heart failure was controlled through medication prescribed by Dr Dey and his team of pediatricians comprising Dr Subhrajit Parida and Dr Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo.
After her condition stabilised, Dr Antaryami Pradhan, Pediatric Surgeon, conducted the difficult surgery to remove the tumour. “This operation was difficult and challenging as handling of the tumour often led to very high BP fluctuations and increased risk to life,” Dr Pradhan said.
Shreeya’s blood pressure is normal after the surgery and she is free of symptoms now. Dr Pradhan’s surgery team comprised anaesthetist Dr Ranjit Pati, Dr Deepankar Padhiari, Dr Sonam Panda, Snigdha, Reeta, Purnendu and Pharmacist Prakash.
